Hero
by colferdreaam
Summary: Blaine has just been broken up with by his boyfriend of three years and is feeling hopeless and lost. A kind stranger stops to ask him if he's okay and a new friendship ensues. Singledad!Kurt
1. Chapter 1

HELLO! I'M STILL ALIVE! So I kind of disappeared from the radar for a while there...It's not exactly easy to explain _why _but it's just been extremely difficult for me to a) come up with an idea and b) put it into actual words, recently. This is the first thing I've written in about 4/5 months and it's not the best chapter ever, but hopefully when I get back into the habit of writing it'll get better as the story progresses. Anyway, enjoy and please review to let me know what you think!

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><p>"Blaine, where are you?"<p>

Blaine barely registered the voice on the other end of the phone as he hurriedly ran through the subway station, jumping onto the train and breathing a sigh of relief that he'd actually _made_ it.

"Sorry," Blaine panted. "I got out of class late. I'll be there soon, I promise."

"You're _already_ late," the voice replied, irritation evident. "If you're not here in half hour I'm leaving."

"_Tyler_," Blaine pleaded, but the call had already disconnected.

Sighing, Blaine put his phone back in his pocket and prayed that the subway would speed up a little.

Blaine made it to the coffee shop just as Tyler was about to leave, out of breath and sweaty from running the entire way there from the subway station.

"I'm so sorry," he said, all but collapsing into his seat. "I honestly thought I'd be here by four but class ended late and I had to run to the subway station and then I had to run here and I-"

"Blaine,"

Blaine sighed, stopping his rambling. "Yes?"

"I think we should break up."

"I...what?" Blaine said. "Is this because I'm late? Because I-"

"It's not because you're _late_, Blaine," Tyler sighed. "I'm not that cruel."

"Then why?" Blaine asked. "I thought we were happy..."

"Maybe_ you_ are but I...I don't think I am," Tyler said. "Let's be honest; this isn't working. This hasn't worked for a long time, we've just been_ trying_ to make it work."

"But..."

"Blaine, honestly? When was the last time we went on a date?"

"I...I thought this was a date." Blaine said dejectedly, staring down at the table.

"I mean a_ real_ date," Tyler replied. "When was the last time either of us tried to do anything special for the other one?"

"So, basically I'm a sucky boyfriend," Blaine concluded. "Great."

"You're not a sucky boyfriend," Tyler argued. "It's both of us, to be honest. We're too different. You're still in school, trying to become a teacher - and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm so, _so_ proud of you - and I'm happy with where I am in my life."

"So you're willing to throw three years of a relationship down the drain because, what? You've sorted your life out while I'm still trying to figure out who I am?"

"Blaine," Tyler sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm just going to leave before we have an argument."

"Tyler -"

"Goodbye, Blaine." Tyler said, pressing a kiss to Blaine's cheek before grabbing his coat and leaving.

Sighing, Blaine put his head in his hands, a tear falling down his cheek.

The truth was he_ knew_ that their relationship wasn't working out. Maybe he just had a little more faith that they could work things out...or maybe he was just too scared to let go of one of the only things that had gotten him through moving to New York.

The first few years were rocky, to say the least. He was studying at NYADA, but in the two years that he was there he just wasn't _happy_. He was living in a tiny, stuffy apartment with a roommate that had no boundaries whatsoever, he'd only made one friend and he _hated_ the course he was taking.

Unhappy with everything in his life, Blaine had decided to take a year off from college and just...explore. He moved into an apartment with his best friend, Amy (aka the only person he'd met in college) and his days were filled with going out to the closest coffee shop for his regular breakfast of a bagel and a medium drip, and then he'd wander around the city, exploring the little places that he never even knew existed.

That was how he met Tyler. He ended up getting lost in a small neighbourhood that he'd never heard of or been in before and Tyler was the only person around to help him out. They'd exchanged phone numbers once they'd managed to get Blaine back to a place he was familiar with and the rest was history.

Tyler had helped him through basically _everything_. When he first moved to New York he felt like an ant in a swarm of elephants, but meeting Tyler made him feel so much bigger and more confident. He helped him figure out where he was actually going in his life and encouraged him to take a course at NYU and study to become a teacher when he didn't think he was good enough.

"Are you okay?"

Only once Blaine was snapped out of his thoughts did he realise that he was all but balling his eyes out. He looked up to see a man with perfectly coiffed brown hair standing in front of him, a little girl holding his hand and shyly cuddling a teddy bear to hear chest.

"I..." Blaine began, about to make up a lie but changing his mind and shaking his head bringing his hands up to wipe his tears away.

The man sat down opposite him, lifting the little girl up onto his lap and cuddling her close when she leaned against him.

"Do you want to talk about it? Or is that way too forward of me and should I just leave?" The man asked in a rushed manner, causing Blaine to laugh a little despite himself.

"I...my boyfriend just broke up with me."

"Oh," the man frowned a little. "I'm sorry."

Blaine winced a little at the uncomfortable look on the mans face. _Great_, he thought, he's _homophobic_.

"Look if you have a problem with me being gay you might as well just leave." Blaine snapped rudely.

"What? No, I..." The man chuckled. "I, um...I'm actually gay," he said, making Blaine blush in embarrassment.

"Oh," Blaine said quietly, picking at the coffee cup Tyler left on the table when he left. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," the man smiled. "I just, um...it kind of hit a sore spot. My husband died a little over a year ago."

"Oh," Blaine repeated, suddenly feeling slightly sick with embarrassment. "I'm...I'm _so_ sorry."

"It's okay," he smiled. "I've...accepted it, I guess. I mean, it still hurts like hell when I think about it but...yeah."

"Kurt!"

The man jumped a little, looking up at the barista that had just shouted his name.

"Um, that's me...I'll be back in a minute." He..._Kurt _said, standing up and shushing the little girl gently when she let out a whine, clutching onto him tightly.

He returned a few moments later, coffee in hand and sleeping child resting against his shoulder.

"Blaine," Blaine said.

"Um...what?" Kurt asked.

"My name," Blaine said, realising how stupid he must have sounded. "My name's Blaine."

"Oh," Kurt laughed, sitting down. "I'm Kurt, if you haven't already realised."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Kurt said, taking a sip from his coffee.

"If your husband died last year then..." He made vague hand gestures to the sleeping child in his arms. "She looks really young."

"She's almost two," Kurt replied easily. "She was seven months when...yeah."

"Oh," Blaine said sadly.

"Yeah, she has no idea who he is," he said, clearly upset but that thought. "Which I mean...as much as I'd like for her to know who he is...at least she didn't get attached and then lose him and...yeah."

"I'm sorry," Blaine said. "I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"It's fine," Kurt smiled, clearing his throat a little. "So, tell me about you."

"Um...I'm twenty three and I'm studying to become a teacher."

"Oh wow," Kurt said, clearly impressed. "What age do you want to teach?"

"I think...probably kindergarten or first grade. I like kids." Blaine shrugged.

"I'll keep that in mind when I need a babysitter for this little one," Kurt teased, looking down at the little girl snuggled up in his arms.

"What's her name?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Cleo," Kurt answered, causing the little girl to open her eyes and blink up at him in confusion. Kurt chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head and cuddling her a little tighter, an obvious signal that she was allowed to go back to sleep.

"She looks like you," Blaine said with a smile.

"She looks like my mom," Kurt replied happily. "Whenever my dad sees her he says that if I were born a girl I'd look exactly like her."

"That's...slightly creepy," Blaine laughed. "Although I do kind of see what he means."

"No!" Kurt cried teasingly. "Not you too!"

Blaine laughed for a short moment before stopping and looking down at the table sadly, suddenly remembering everything that happened before Kurt showed up.

"You okay?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah I just...I think it just hit me that I have nobody to text 'goodnight' to before I go to bed tonight, and I have nobody to sit next to on the subway on the way to school or to kiss me and hug me when I have a stressful day."

"I'm sorry," Kurt frowned.

Blaine shrugged. "He was right," he said. "Our relationship hasn't really been a _relationship_ for a while now. All we ever did was fight on the rare occasion that we actually had some time to ourselves and whenever I spent the night at his apartment he'd just watch TV while I did schoolwork and then we'd go to bed at different times with nothing but a kiss on the cheek to say goodnight. I think I'm just so..._used_ to the idea of having him around that I don't want to let go even thought I know we'd both be better off. He helped me through everything and picked me back up when I felt like I wasn't good enough for anything...I guess I'm just scared to not be with him."

"I don't even know what to say," Kurt said sadly. "I'm sure you'll be okay. You have friends that can help you, right?"

Blaine scoffed. "I have one friend," he said pathetically, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I mean there are people in my classes that I talk to sometimes and I eat lunch with but I'm not close, by any means, with them."

"Give me your phone," Kurt said, holding his hand out until Blaine put his phone in it. He tapped the screen a few times before handing the phone back to Blaine. "Now you have another friend."

"Why?" Blaine asked dejectedly.

"Why what?"

"Why would you want to be friends with a pathetic twenty three year old who's stuck in college for the next two years and is, apparently, very clingy?" Blaine asked, unable to stop his tears once again.

"Okay firstly," Kurt said. "I'm offended that you think I'm too old to be friends with a twenty three year old," he teased, eliciting a small chuckle from Blaine as he reached across the table to hold his hand. "Secondly, you're not 'stuck' in college for the next two years, you're studying hard for the next to years to achieve something incredible. And thirdly, you're not pathetic or clingy. Well, I wouldn't really know about the clingy thing but I think you just lost someone who's incredibly important to you and you're scared to let go, which is _normal. _You're just a little bit lost right now, that doesn't make you pathetic."

"I've been lost since I was eighteen," Blaine pointed out. "I had this perfect vision of coming to New York, studying at NYADA and being in movies and on Broadway but when I got here it turned out that I _hated _NYADA and I didn't really want to be on Broadway all too much."

"So you found a different dream," Kurt countered. "And that's _fine_. People do change you know, especially after a big transition like finishing high school or moving to a different state."

Blaine sighed in defeat. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Yup," Kurt grinned, eliciting laughter from Blaine. "So listen to what I'm telling you, because I'm always right."

Blaine laughed. "Why are you being so nice to me?" He asked. "For all you know I could be like...a serial killer."

"Well the fact that you're pointing out that you _could_ be a serial killer leads me to believe that you're _not_ a serial killer."

"I'm not a serial killer," Blaine giggled. "My parents raised me to be polite and chivalrous towards everyone," he said proudly, sitting up a little straighter and pulling on his bowtie. "I'm very proper."

Kurt laughed loudly. "You're a dork, that's what you are."

A tired whine snapped the two men out of their little world. Cleo reached up to grab onto Kurt's shoulders, pulling herself up as much as she could and hugging him tightly, beginning to cry in earnest.

Kurt pulling back a little so he could see her face and wiped the tears from her face.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked, pushing her hair away from her face.

"Tummy," Cleo cried, smashing her face back against Kurt's shoulder until he cuddled her again.

"Okay," Kurt sighed. "I think I need to get this little one home and call the doctor. She's been sick for a few days and she doesn't seem to be getting any better."

"I should probably get going too," Blaine agreed. "I've been in here for over an hour and I haven't even bought anything."

"I'll be expecting a call from you, okay?" Kurt teased. "We're friends now - there's no escape."

Blaine laughed. "I promise I'll call you."

"Pinky swear?" Kurt said, holding his pinky out.

Blaine locked pinkies with him, laughing all the while. "I'm not sure you're mature enough to be a dad."

"Hey, ignorance is the key to being a parent," Kurt countered. "If I'm no fun then Cleo will grow up to be boring too."

"Touché," Blaine grinned.

"Daddy," Cleo whined, her face still pressed tightly against Kurt's shoulder.

"Okay, okay," Kurt said, kissing the top of her head. "I'll speak to you soon, okay?"

Blaine nodded, standing up with Kurt and walking out of the shop with him. He waved goodbye to Kurt before making his own way home, feeling a little better about everything that had happened earlier in the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, new chapter! Again, not the best thing I've ever written but I'm still really proud of myself for getting to the point where I've been able to actually write two full chapters - let's try and turn that into a full story! Please review and let me know what you think!

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><p>"How did your date go!?" Amy asked excitedly almost the second Blaine walked through the door.<p>

Blaine pulled his shoes off and sat down next to his best friend on the sofa.

"We broke up."

"What?" Amy said. "But you don't seem...upset."

Blaine shrugged. "I was...I _am_, but I met this guy and..."

"Blaine Anderson!" Amy exclaimed with laughter.

"It's not like that!" Blaine laughed. "He's older than me, he has a daughter and his husband died a year ago. We're just _friends_."

"Okay so all I got from that is you met a gay, older guy who made you feel better about your break-up." Amy concluded.

"I..." Blaine had no idea what to say when she put it like _that_. "Look, it's not like that. Firstly, I don't even know how old he is. Granted, he didn't look that old, but still. And secondly, I'm only _twenty three_!" Blaine exclaimed. "I'm still in college, Amy. I'm not ready to take on a _child_."

"Blaine, you're amazing with kids - you know that just as well as I do."

"Yeah, from the age of like four upwards. She's not even two yet, Amy. I don't even know how to change a diaper!"

"It's really not that difficult..." Amy trailed off. "Besides, you're amazing with Cooper's baby."

"That's not the point anyway," Blaine said after a momeng. "It's not like he'd even _want_ to date me."

"You don't know that," Amy pointed out.

"Can we just drop it?" Blaine asked, beginning to get annoyed.

"Okay," Amy agreed, cuddling up to her best friend on the sofa and grinning up at him.

Blaine shook his head with laughter, kissing the top of Amy's head and cuddling her in return.

Blaine awoke to the sound of his phone buzzing in his pocket. He and Amy had somehow fallen asleep on the sofa - after Blaine sent Kurt a text to thank him for cheering him up - and they were now lying down together, Amy with her head resting on Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine quietly slipped out from underneath Amy without waking her and went into his bedroom, answering his phone as quietly as possible.

"Hello?" He croaked.

"Blaine?" Oh, it was Kurt. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up? I -"

"Kurt, it's fine," Blaine said quickly, realising how sad Kurt sounded. "What's wrong?"

"Can you come to the ER?" Kurt asked.

"What!?" Blaine exclaimed, suddenly alarmed.

"It's not...I'm fine. Cleo keeps throwing up and crying and I...I just don't want to be alone right now and I didn't know who to call."

"Text me the name of the hospital you're at and I'll make my way there now, okay?"

"Thank you," Kurt breathed, sounding relieved. "You have no idea how much it means to me."

"It's the least I can do after this afternoon," Blaine replied, smiling.

"I'll text you the address, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine replied. "I'll see you soon."

Blaine had already gotten his shoes on and snuck out of the apartment by the time he received Kurt's text of what hospital he was at. He'd be lying if he said it didn't make him a tiny bit happy that he was the first person that Kurt had decided to call. Granted, he didn't really know anything about Kurt's friends and family, but still.

It was strange - Blaine had only just met Kurt but he could already feel himself growing insanely close to him. Even from just speaking to him once, Blaine knew Kurt was one of the sweetest people he'd probably ever met.

Blaine smiled to himself as he walked through the hospital corridor, seeing Cleo cuddled up to Kurt, her head nestled safely underneath his chin, with her eyes closed, her dummy in her mouth and her teddy bear clutched tightly to her body. Kurt had his eyes closed too, holding Cleo as close as possible without squashing her.

"Kurt?" Blaine said softly as he approached them, unsure if Kurt was actually even awake.

Kurt blinked his eyes open sleepily, looking up at Blaine. He looked slightly confused at first, but as realisation his him a small smile appeared on his face.

"Hi," Kurt replied, shushing Cleo gently when she let out a whine.

Blaine sat down next to Kurt, reaching out a hand to run his finger gently along Cleo's warm cheek, smiling to himself when she sleepily leaned into it.

"How's she doing?" Blaine asked, looking back up at Kurt.

"Better, in the fact that she hasn't thrown up for a while. She's still really warm though and she starts crying anytime I move for even a second."

"How long have you been here?"

"Too long," Kurt said, laughing tiredly. "Almost as soon as we got home she started throwing up. I gave her a little while to see if she started feeling better but she just kept being sick, and even when there was nothing left _to_ throw up she wouldn't stop," he explained. "I know that she's probably fine I just...ever since..." Kurt closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath. "I'm just kind of paranoid."

"Hey, it's okay," Blaine said, smiling softly. "It's better to be safe than sorry, right? That's what they're teaching me in school anyway..."

Kurt laughed. "Yeah, I guess," he replied. He was about to continue when the loud sound of his empty stomach rumbling interrupted his thoughts.

"It sounds like you haven't eaten in a month, Kurt," Blaine laughed.

"I didn't get a chance to eat when I got home," Kurt explained, blushing profusely. "I would've gone to grab something but this little one wouldn't stop crying." He said affectionately.

"You can go grab something now if you want," Blaine offered. "I don't mind looking after her."

Kurt stared at Blaine for a few moments before speaking, "Are you sure?" He asked. "I don't want her to like...throw up on you."

"Kurt," Blaine laughed. "I swear I don't mind. Besides, it's not like I haven't been thrown up on before."

"Um..."

"I meant my niece!" Blaine exclaimed, blushing himself this time. "Oh my god..."

"Thank god," Kurt laughed. "I was worried for a minute there."

"Anyway," Blaine said, changing the subject back to Cleo. "I promise I don't mind."

Kurt sighed, pulling back from Cleo a tiny bit. Blaine felt a little pang in his heart at the broken expression on the one year olds face as she began to cry again, pulling her dummy out of her mouth in protest.

"Shh, baby," Kurt said softly, brushing Cleo's hair away from her face before wiping her tears away gently. "Baby, daddy needs to go and get something to eat," he explained quietly. "Can you sit with Blaine for a little while?"

Cleo looked up at Blaine, her blue eyes watery and her bottom lip quivering. She looked back up at Kurt a few moments later with pleading eyes.

"Daddy," she cried, lifting her arms up towards Kurt.

Kurt frowned, lifting her up until she was standing on his lap and hugging her tightly.

"Cleo," Kurt sighed, rubbing her tiny back. "I promise I won't be gone long. Please, baby girl?"

Cleo sniffed sadly, a tiny sob hiccupping out of her as she clutched Kurt tighter but nodded nonetheless.

Kurt stood up and gently handed her to Blaine, bending down to wipe her tears away and put her dummy back in her mouth.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" He said softly, caressing her tiny cheek with his thumb. "I love you." He added, kissing her forehead before standing up and mouthing 'thank you' to Blaine, who nodded in reply.

He began to walk down the corridor, refraining himself from turning around as he knew if he saw her tear stained face and her sad blue eyes staring after him, he'd be unable to stop himself from running right back to her.

Now that Blaine had Cleo on his lap, he was freaking out a little. He was glad that he was helping Kurt out, but he was slightly terrified that he was going to do something stupid like drop her on the floor. As good as he _knew_ he was with kids, he was somehow terrified to look after Kurt's for a little while.

"Bane," Cleo said quietly, her voice muffled around her dummy, as she looked up at Blaine with wide eyes.

Blaine looked down at her, smiling softly. "Yes?"

Cleo turned around and pointed to a stack of shelves filled with children's books, looking up at him with questioning eyes.

Blaine smiled, lifting her up and taking her over to the shelves. "What do you wanna read?" He asked, letting her reach up and pick one out herself before handing it to Blaine.

He took her back over to their seats, sitting her on his lap and opening the book, beginning to read animatedly.

Kurt came back to the sight of Blaine reading what appeared to be at least his fourth book, Cleo giggling softly and pointing at the pages. He smiled, walking up to the pair and kneeling down in front of them

"Hey," he said, relieved to see a smile on his daughters face. "Looks like someone's having fun without me." He pouted, causing Cleo to giggle again.

"We had quite the party," Blaine teased.

"Bane silly," Cleo said around her dummy.

Kurt grinned up at Blaine for a moment before turning his attention back to his daughter. "Is he?"

Cleo nodded, giggling cutely.

"Cleo Hummel?"

Both Kurt and Cleo looked up immediately at the call of her name, Kurt having forgotten where they were for a moment.

"Okay, come on missy," he said, lifting the little girl into his arms. "I won't be long," he said to Blaine.

Blaine nodded, shooing Kurt with his hands before collecting up the books and taking them back over to the shelves.

"That's got to be the first time I've ever seen anyone actually put those things back," a voice said suddenly, making Blaine jump slightly.

Blaine turned around to find a young doctor looking on in slight amusement.

"I, um..." Blaine stuttered, blushing a little.

"It's okay," he said with a small laugh. "It's a good thing. People don't usually care enough to actually put them back. They usually get left on chairs and then people come and want to sit down and they end up on the floor and it's just...a mess."

Blaine smiled. "Yeah I, um...I guess I was just brought up the right way." He shrugged.

"I don't want to seem rude but...you don't seem to have a child with you, and you don't even look old enough to have a child..."

Blaine laughed a little. "I'm here for a friend," he said. "Moral support, I guess. And I'm twenty three."

"I'm not doing very well at this am I?" The doctor laughed.

Blaine rose his eyebrows in question, having no idea what he was talking about.

"I um...I think I'm trying to flirt with you," he said. Blaine looked at him with a blank expression for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Yeah, I know," the doctor laughed. "I suck."

"No, I just..." Blaine said, still laughing. "I think...no, yeah, the children's ward in a hospital is by far the strangest place I've ever been hit on. Or heard of someone getting hit on in."

"It is a little weird," he agreed. "I, um...I'm Ryan."

"I'm Blaine," Blaine said, grinning a little.

"So how did I do?" Ryan asked. "With the flirting?"

"Well," Blaine said, pretending to think things over seriously. "I'm gonna have to give you a three for content, but a solid nine for effort."

Ryan laughed. "Note to self: never flirt in the middle of a hospital."

"Well hey, you haven't tried asking me out yet," Blaine teased and _woah, _when did he get so brazen? "There may still be hope for you."

"Okay," Ryan said, grinning like an idiot. "Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Blaine tried to come up with something flirty to reply with, but he couldn't stop himself as he smiled widely and simply said, "Yes."

"Give me your phone," Ryan smiled, holding his hand out until Blaine placed it willingly in his hand. He pressed the home button and his smile suddenly dropped. "Um..."

Blaine was confused until he turned the phone around to show Blaine and Tyler kissing on his wallpaper, causing Blaine to mentally slap himself.

"I...we're not together. I mean, we were...obviously, but um...we broke up."

"And it's still your wallpaper?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrow.

"It kind of happened this morning..." Blaine admitted. "I guess I forgot..."

"How do you forget breaking up with your boyfriend?" Ryan asked.

It wasn't accusatory, it was just curious.

Blaine shrugged a little. "I wasn't really thinking about it, to be honest," he admitted. "My day started off crap and then I got dumped and I didn't think I'd ever get over it but everything just kind of turned around and I...I haven't really thought about him at all."

"Okay," Ryan said, seemingly processing everything he'd been told. "Well, you're cute so I _guess_ I'll still give you my number." He sighed dramatically with a teasing smile on his face, causing Blaine's grin to come back.

Blaine gratefully accepted his phone back from Ryan once he was finished adding his number and sending himself a text so he had Blaine's number too.

"I should get back to work before I get fired," Ryan laughed. "I'll text you and we can arrange something, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine smiled, making his way back over to where he was previously sitting once Ryan had gotten back to work.

Kurt returned about five minutes later, and Blaine made his way over to him immediately.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's okay," Kurt breathed in relief. "She just has food poisoning. I was overreacting."

"Hey," Blaine said sadly. "At least you know she's okay."

"I guess," Kurt sighed. "Thank you so much for coming down here," he said. "I probably would've had a mental breakdown if I was left alone."

"It's fine," Blaine smiled. "I told you I didn't mind. It wasn't like I was doing anything anyway."

"Do you need a ride home?" Kurt asked.

"Um, it's fine, I don't mind getting the subway."

"Blaine," Kurt said in an authoritative tone. "It's late; I'd rather drive you home than have you get murdered or kidnapped on the subway."

"Fine," Blaine laughed.

"Come on," Kurt grinned. "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you guys for the sweet reviews! I had no idea you guys would like this so much...I'd like to say I knew exactly what I was doing with this story but everytime I sit down to write, whatever I intended to write never actually ends up happening, so I have no idea how this is going to end eventually. This is a slightly shorter chapter with no Kurt in it (sorry!) and a lot of angst, but it's quite fluffy at the end. Please review! :)

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><p>Blaine and Ryan agreed to go out to dinner that Saturday. Blaine was half excited and half extremely nervous. He hadn't been on a date with anyone but Tyler in three years, and he and Tyler hadn't even been on a date in forever.<p>

He was also really excited, though. He had been texting both Kurt and Ryan all week and he'd hardly even thought about Tyler.

Blaine heard a wolf whistle come from Amy as he left his bedroom, causing him to blush and grin shyly.

"Someone looks _gorgeous_," Amy commented appreciatively. "Going to see Kurt?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I have a date."

"I told you!" Amy exclaimed proudly.

"Not with Kurt," Blaine pointed out. "His name's Ryan. He's a paediatrician - I met him while I was at the hospital with Kurt the other night."

"How is it that you get broken up with and you manage to meet two gay guys in one day?" Amy asked. "And one of them is a _doctor_!" She exclaimed.

Blaine laughed. "Someone's jealous," he teased.

"I am," Amy whined with a teasing pout. "Don't you dare run off anywhere though! I want to meet him first."

"Must you?" Blaine asked, already thinking about the many terrible things Amy could say and do in the span of five minutes.

"As your best friend, yes - I must." Amy grinned, kissing Blaine's cheek before making her way over to the sofa to sit down.

Blaine rolled his eyes but laughed, pulling his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrate with a text.

"_Great_," Blaine sighed as he sat down on the sofa next to Amy.

"What's wrong?"

"Tyler," Blaine said, showing Amy his phone screen.

**Tyler: Can we talk?**

"Give me your phone," Amy said immediately.

"Amy," Blaine said warily.

"_Blaine_," Amy said in a stern voice. "He has no right!"

Blaine sighed but handed his phone over to Amy, watching as she typed furiously at the keypad before handing it back to him.

_**Blaine: It's Amy. Don't bother trying to talk to him and beg for his forgiveness or whatever, Tyler. You guys were together for three years and you dumped him after he had already had a bad day instead of trying to work things out first. You don't deserve him, to be completely honest, so just leave him alone.**_

A new text had arrived by the time Blaine finished reading Amy's message, causing him to groan out loud.

**Tyler: I'm outside.**

"Blaine, please tell me you're not actually going to go down there!" Amy exclaimed, following after Blaine when he got up and went to the door.

"What else am I supposed to do!?" Blaine asked.

"You could just wait for Ryan to arrive and go have fun," Amy pointed out like it was obvious.

"Yeah, because Tyler isn't going to try to stop us from leaving," Blaine said sarcastically. "Why are you so against me going down there anyway?"

"Because I know you love him a hell of a lot more than he ever loved you," Amy said. "And I don't trust him."

"You mean you don't trust me to not go running back to him if I get the chance," Blaine corrected, looking slightly hurt.

"And you're trying to tell me you won't?"

"Amy, I've barely even thought about him this week. I swear, even if he wanted to me to, I wouldn't go running straight back to him."

"Blaine," Amy sighed, but Blaine turned around and made his way out of the apartment, his best friend following behind him.

"What do you want?" Blaine asked Tyler, who was leaning against his car.

"I just want to talk," Tyler said, pausing for a moment. "Without _her_."

"Tyler, I don't _want_ to talk," Blaine said truthfully. "I just want you to go away so that I can get on with my evening."

"Blaine?"

_Oh great_.

"Ryan," Blaine said in a strained voice. _Why did he have to show up right now_!?

"Who is this?" Tyler asked accusingly.

"Oh, shut up," Amy interrupted.

"Blaine, what's going on?" Ryan asked.

"I -"

"Are you kidding me?" Tyler said. "You're already going out with someone else?"

"Tyler -"

"Since when was it any of your business?" Amy asked.

"Can you all just be quiet!?" Blaine all but screamed, feeling like his head was going to explode.

"Baby -"

"Don't," Blaine said sternly, pulling his arm away from Tyler when he reached out for him. "You don't get to call me that anymore. Nor do you get to decide what I do in my free time or who I spend it with. And you," he said to Amy. "Stay out of my love life for once! I know that you're just trying to look out for me, but I'm not a child! I'm twenty three years old, Amy, I know how to look after myself," he then turned to Ryan, sighing as his face softened. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Ryan smiled. "I'm not really sure what I just walked in on, but it's okay."

Blaine returned the smile, reaching out his hand to hold Ryan's before turning back to Tyler.

"Go home, Tyler," Blaine said. "I don't want to talk to you, so stop wasting your time."

"Wait," Ryan said suddenly, as if he'd come to a sudden realisation. "Your name's Tyler?"

Both Tyler and Blaine turned to look at Ryan in confusion, Tyler nodding slightly.

"I thought you looked familiar," Ryan said, before freezing a little. "I..."

"What?" Blaine asked.

"I'm not really sure it's my place to say..."

Tyler seemed to realise what was happening immediately, shooting Ryan a look as if to say 'shut up.'

"Will one of you tell me what's going on?" Blaine asked desperately.

Tyler was still sending looks to Ryan, but he seemed to dismiss them a little, slowly speaking.

"I...a few months ago I went out with my friend to celebrate his birthday and...I...he ended up ditching me not long after we got there and he was dancing with this guy. I could barely see his face because it was too dark, but I remember him saying his name was Tyler when he came back to get a drink. I wasn't drinking so I was driving him home and I...he brought the guy with him and they..." Ryan stopped for a moment, seeing that Blaine was close to tears. He sighed, but continued anyway, figuring that Blaine needed to know. "They were making out basically the entire way back to my friend's house and I...I mean I guess it's pretty obvious what happened when they got inside."

Blaine pulled his hand away from Ryan's, stepping backwards as a tear fell from his eye.

"You were cheating on me," Blaine said simply, staring at Tyler. "All that crap about us being too different to each other was complete and utter rubbish, wasn't it? You've been cheating on me this entire time."

"Blaine, I...it's not -"

"Don't you dare tell me it's not how it sounds," Blaine cried. "I can't believe you!"

"Blaine, I'm sorry, I -"

"You _cheated_ on me!" Blaine shouted. "You weren't even honest about it, and you want me to accept some pathetic apology!?"

"Blaine," Amy said, stepping forward a little. "Blaine, let's just go inside."

"You _disgust_ me," Blaine said, walking towards Tyler. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Yeah, well maybe if you weren't doing school work all the time and you actually remembered you were in a relationship every once in a while I wouldn't have _had_ to cheat."

Everyone saw the moment something snapped inside Blaine and he saw red, launching himself at Tyler. He'd already punched him harshly in the nose by the time Ryan managed to pull him back, holding him tightly until he stopped trying to fight his grip and sunk into his embrace, turning around and crying into his shoulder.

"Take him inside," Ryan said to Amy, gesturing to Tyler. "We'll be in in a minute and I'll get him cleaned up."

Amy nodded, grabbing Tyler's arms a little too roughly and dragging him inside.

"I'm sorry," Blaine sniffed, pulling back to look at Ryan. "Tonight was not supposed to go like this at all."

"It's okay," Ryan said honestly, wiping Blaine's tears away. "We can go out to dinner another time, okay? Let's go inside and sort out the douche and then we'll just talk or something instead."

Blaine laughed a little at Ryan calling Tyler a douche, nodding and wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

They made their way inside, Blaine instantly running over to Amy and curling into her side on the sofa while Ryan grabbed some tissue and attempted to stop Tyler's nose from bleeding. Blaine couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how close Ryan had to get, but when he saw Ryan grab Tyler's chin a little too tight and tilt his head back aggressively, he smiled a little.

Once they'd finally gotten rid of Tyler, Amy cleared her throat and stood up, claiming she was going out to meet some friends and left the apartment.

Ryan sat down next to Blaine, who slowly inched forward until he could curl into his side, unsure if he was pushing things too quickly too far. Ryan seemed happy to hold him though, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Blaine admitted. "I probably didn't make the best first impression."

"Actually, I think you reacted in a completely normal way," Ryan said. "You probably shouldn't have punched him in the face - regardless of how much he deserved it - but still. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you."

Blaine shook his head. "Don't be," he said. "At least I found out. He clearly wasn't going to tell me himself, so...Besides, it's not like you even knew me when it happened."

"He's such a douche," Ryan said incredulously. "He didn't deserve you."

"You don't even know me," Blaine pointed out. "Not really."

"True," Ryan agreed. "But he doesn't deserve anybody even remotely decent."

Blaine laughed. "I was really looking forward to tonight."

"Me too, but don't worry," Ryan replied. "I promise we'll make up for it."

"I'm holding you to that," Blaine said, grinning up at Ryan.

"You're adorable," Ryan said truthfully with a laugh.

"So I've been told," Blaine teased.

"Shut up," Ryan laughed, shoving Blaine playfully.

Blaine giggled, cuddling back up to Ryan before turning serious again.

"Thank you for everything tonight," he said. "I'm pretty sure any other guy would've run just finding us all arguing in the middle of the street."

Ryan laughed a little. "Stop thanking me and apologising," he said. "If I didn't want to be here I wouldn't be. I know we don't really know that much about each other but I_ like_ you, Blaine, and I'm not going to run away because your ex is an idiot."

Blaine smiled up at him, satisfied with that answer. "I like you, too," he admitted, grinning at the kiss Ryan placed on his forehead.

"Good," he teased, cuddling Blaine a little tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is upon us! Thank you guys for all of the sweet feedback you've given me so far! Question: regardless of what happens with their relationship, do you guys want Ryan to stick around until the end of the story? And (if I even have a way to write him back in) do you want to see Tyler causing drama too? Leave me a review and let me know!

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><p>A few weeks passed and Blaine was still with Ryan. Their first date had gone amazingly, even though Blaine was still slightly upset at what he'd found out about Tyler. Ryan had dropped Blaine back off his apartment and left him with a gentle kiss goodnight, causing Blaine to grin for ages after he left.<p>

He'd grown impossibly closer to Kurt, and he wasn't as terrified around Cleo - who absolutely _adored_ him - anymore. He'd babysat a few times, but he didn't trust himself to look after a baby all night by himself so he'd only do it for a little while if Kurt had to run some errands or something.

Tonight, though, Blaine had agreed to look after her for the entire night as Kurt had to work late and he couldn't get a babysitter on such short notice. He _knew_ he had the capability to look after her safely, he was just terrified that he'd do something stupid.

"I hope you realise you're leaving your child's life in my hands for the entire night," Blaine said as a way of greeting when he arrived at Kurt's apartment.

Kurt laughed in reply. "Blaine, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't be letting you look after her."

"I know _you_ trust me," Blaine said. "I just don't think _I_ trust me."

"You'll be fine," Kurt assured him. "I've written a list of things she is and isn't allowed to eat on the fridge, and I've written down when she needs to go to bed too. Most of her toys are in her bedroom and she's got loads of DVDs in there too if she gets restless. I'm only a phone call away if you need anything, okay?"

Blaine breathed out a nervous breath. "Yeah," he said. "Okay."

Kurt smiled. "She loves you, Blaine," he pointed out. "You're like her best friend."

"That's really cute," Blaine chuckled. "Okay, I think I've got this."

"Let me just go and get her up from her nap," Kurt said, heading in the direction of Cleo's room. He returned a few moments later with a very sleepy looking Cleo, her head on Kurt's shoulder and her eyes closed, her dummy in her mouth as she grasped Kurt's shirt tightly. "Baby," Kurt said softly, bouncing Cleo a little bit in his arms until she opened her eyes. "I need to go now, baby girl."

Cleo seemed to just stare at Kurt in confusion while he spoke before laying her head back down on his shoulder, eliciting a chuckle from Kurt. He gently eased her into Blaine's arms, shaking his head with a grin when she went willingly, cuddling up to Blaine and keeping her eyes shut.

"Try not to let her fall back to sleep or she won't sleep when it's her bedtime," Kurt said to Blaine, carding his fingers gently through Cleo's hair. "If you need _anything_, just call me, okay?"

Blaine nodded. "I think I'll be okay."

"You will," Kurt assured him. "Okay. Cleo, baby?"

Cleo didn't move an inch, only blinked her eyes open sleepily.

"Daddy will be back later, okay? I love you lots, you little monkey." He said, pressing a kiss to Cleo's cheek and causing her to giggle at the nickname.

Once Kurt was gone, Blaine sat down with Cleo on the sofa, trying to keep her from leaning against him and sleeping. He put the TV on at Cleo's request, putting her into her playpen with a few of her toys while he ventured into the kitchen to look at Kurt's lists.

Okay...he could do this. He'd be fine. He could cook, so that was dinner sorted. He (finally) knew how to change a diaper, so that was fine. Cleo was the sleepiest child Blaine had ever met, so getting her to bed shouldn't be an issue. Other than that, all Blaine had to do was keep her occupied, which would be easy.

Blaine jumped when he heard a loud crash sound from the living room, Cleo's cries filling the entire apartment. He dropped the list from his hand, all but sprinting back into the living room to find Cleo lying on the floor, her playpen turned onto it's side where she'd clearly tried to climb out and made the entire frame fall over.

"Cleo," Blaine said, rushing over to the one year old and lifting her into his arms, trying to calm her down a little. He sat down on the sofa and checked her head to make sure it wasn't bleeding or anything. "You're okay," he whispered, close to tears himself as he cuddled her close. "You're okay."

Cleo, however, wouldn't stop crying. Blaine stood up and bounced her gently, trying to calm her down. He could hear her voice growing tired, but she still wouldn't stop.

"Cleo," Blaine whined, sitting down on the sofa and bouncing her on his knee. He held her tightly against him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number, trying his hardest not to cry.

"Blaine?"

"Ryan," Blaine choked out, unable to hold his tears back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ryan asked gently.

"I don't...I'm babysitting Cleo," Blaine explained. "I went into the kitchen for like thirty seconds and she tried to climb out of her playpen but she tipped the entire thing over and fell out and she won't stop crying and I'm freaking out."

"Okay, first of all - breathe," Ryan said. "Is she bleeding at all?"

"No," Blaine replied, trying to calm down. "I don't think she's hurt, but she won't stop crying and I don't know what to do."

"She's probably just scared from falling out," Ryan explained. "How long has she been crying for?"

"I don't know," Blaine said, still crying himself. "I don't know she's just...she's been crying long enough that she's struggling to keep crying."

"Do you want me to come over?" Ryan asked.

Blaine let out a shaky breath, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before putting his arm back around Cleo.

"I'm at Kurt's," he said. "Is it okay if I check with him first and then I'll send you his address?"

"Sure," Ryan replied.

A few minutes later, Blaine had already texted Kurt to make sure it was okay that Ryan came over, and he was texting Ryan Kurt's address.

Blaine leaned back against the sofa, cuddling Cleo tightly as she let out broken whimpers, clinging onto Blaine like her life depended on it.

He felt terrible for needing Ryan to come over and help him. How was he supposed to look after an entire class of kids by himself if he couldn't even look after _one_? How was he supposed to know that Cleo would try climbing out of her playpen anyway? She was having fun in there before he left.

Blaine was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock on the door, which also resulted in Cleo beginning to cry loudly once again. He stood up and cradled her head to his shoulder, kissing the top of her head as he made his way over to the door.

"Hey," Ryan said when Blaine opened the door, leaning in and hugging him as best he could with Cleo in Blaine's arms.

"I'm so glad you're here," Blaine breathed. "I thought I could handle this but I can't."

"You _can_," Ryan countered, pulling back from the hug and leading Blaine over to the sofa. "Okay, let's make sure this little one is okay."

Cleo whined loudly at being taken away from Blaine, but Ryan immediately calmed her down, bouncing her on his knee and talking to her in a baby voice about Blaine being silly, causing her to giggle a little.

"How did you do that?" Blaine asked in shock.

Ryan smiled. "Did you even try? Or were you just freaking out?"

"Well, I..." Blaine sighed.

"Babies reflect your emotions," Ryan explained. "If she's already upset and then you get upset, she won't calm down. If she's upset and you're calm then she'll calm down."

Blaine deflated a little, leaning back against the sofa. "How the hell am I supposed to be a teacher if I can't even look after my friend's child?"

"As long as you tell yourself you can't do it, you won't be able to do it," Ryan said. "You're perfectly capable of looking after her, you just don't believe in yourself."

"I guess that's always been my issue," Blaine concluded. "I've never really felt like I was good enough for anything."

"Why?"

Blaine shrugged. "I guess because when I was younger I was never good enough for my parents," Blaine said. "They were never really accepting of me being gay and they just used that as a reason to put me down for anything. No matter what I did they were always comparing me to my brother, and they still do - 'Cooper has a good job and a family already - you're still in school and you're with that _stupid_ boy, Timothy or whatever his name is.'" Blaine mocked.

"I'm guessing you don't like your brother that much?" Ryan asked.

"I do," Blaine corrected. "He's probably the only person in my family who couldn't care less that I'm gay, or that I'm basically just wandering around New York like a lost puppy who has no idea what he's doing. I just hate how my parents are always comparing us, it's like...no matter how hard I try I'm never good enough. The worst part is is that I feel so lost sometimes, but I know I could never go to my parents for help or advice because they'd just tell me that 'Cooper wouldn't have this problem, you know.'"

"Maybe you should stop listening to them, then?" Ryan suggested, standing up and picking Cleo's playpen up before setting her inside, both of them making sure to keep an eye on her this time around. "I mean, I know they're your parents, but they clearly aren't a positive influence in your life."

"That's easier said than done," Blaine said, cuddling up to Ryan's side when he opened his arms up. "It's like, even though nothing I do is ever good enough for them they never seem to leave me alone."

"Well," Ryan said, Blaine looking up at him in question. "I think you're amazing, so screw what they think."

Blaine smiled, leaning up to press his lips to Ryan's in a chaste kiss. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Blaine?"

Blaine turned round to see Cleo pulling herself up onto her feet using the bars of the playpen as leverage, causing his heart to speed up a little bit as he sat up straight. He sighed a little in relief when all she did was lift her arms up, clearly having learned her lesson the first time she climbed out.

He lifted her out of the playpen, smiling a little when she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder.

"What's wrong, little one?" Blaine asked, sitting down with Cleo on his lap.

"Want Daddy." Cleo said, hiding her face in Blaine's shit.

"He'll be home soon," Blaine assured her. "What do you want to do until then?"

Cleo looked up at Blaine, her face confused for a few moments before she pushed herself off his lap and ran into her bedroom.

"Blaine!" She called loudly, causing Blaine to laugh as he followed the one year old into her bedroom, finding her standing on her bed reaching up for the top shelf next to it.

Lifting Cleo up, he allowed her to grab a pink Lego box from the shelf before he set her back down on the floor and laughed as she ran excitedly through to the living room.

The three of them played with the Lego until dinner time, and then cuddled up one the sofa together and watched Winnie The Pooh until Cleo eventually fell asleep.

"I told you you could do it," Ryan whispered from the doorway of Cleo's bedroom as Blaine carefully laid Cleo down in her bed and tucked her in without waking her.

Blaine grinned, shooing Ryan out of the room with his hands and closing the door before kissing Ryan properly for the first time all night.

"You were right," Blaine whispered, wrapping his arms around Ryan's neck. "I overreacted about the whole thing."

"I'm always right," Ryan teased, pulling Blaine closer and kissing him again.

They continued to kiss for a few minutes until they heard the door opening, causing Blaine to pull away and hide his face in Ryan's shoulder.

"You can hide all you like, but I know what you were just doing," Kurt laughed as he entered the apartment.

Blaine whined, keeping his face hidden while Kurt and Ryan laughed at the situation.

"You guys are awful," Blaine commented, turning his face so that he could see Kurt but keeping his head against Ryan's shoulder.

Kurt shrugged, grinning proudly and pulling his coat off. "How did it go?"

Blaine finally pulled away from Ryan, holding his hand instead. "It went okay," he said. "It kind of start off terribly but, yeah..."

"I told you you'd be fine," Kurt pointed out. "She adores you. I also see she roped you into watching Winnie The Pooh." He laughed.

"Yeah," Blaine laughed. "She insisted."

Kurt shook his head with laughter. "Thank you so much for tonight," he said. "I've never really been comfortable getting babysitters. I don't really want a complete stranger alone in my house, much less alone in my house with my baby."

"It's fine," Blaine said. "I...if you need me to look after her again, I'd be happy too."

"You sure?" Kurt asked, smiling.

Blaine nodded. "I think I'm a little less afraid that I'm going to cause havoc."

"If anyone's going to cause havoc, it's Cleo," Kurt laughed. "Speaking of, I think I'm gonna go kiss her goodnight. Do either of you need a ride home?"

"I can drop Blaine off," Ryan said, Blaine nodding in agreement.

"Okay," Kurt smiled. "Thank you again - both of you."

"No problem," Blaine replied with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

This took so long for me to write and it's still my shortest chapter yet, ew. ANYHOW, this chapter ends on a slight cliffhanger and I'm not the least bit sorry about it, mwahahaha! (I'm slightly hyper...) I'm sorry I haven't posted in like a week or so, I've just been having a really bad few days, although I've been having panic attacks all day today and I still managed to finish this so I'm super proud of myself! Okay I'm gonna shut up now. Enjoy! Please review and let me know what you think! :)

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><p>Cleo's second birthday was rapidly approaching, and Kurt was <em>more<em> than stressed out trying to arrange her party and get her cake made.

"It's _tomorrow_, Blaine!" Kurt shouted anxiously down the phone. "I'm never going to get things done in time!"

Blaine had been woken up at six in the morning by Kurt calling him, and Blaine was barely even awake while he listened to the rambling on the other end of the phone.

"If you need to get stuff done, Ryan and I can look after Cleo for you." Blaine offered.

Blaine looked over to Ryan for confirmation, but his boyfriend had clearly fallen back to sleep, making him grin fondly.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Blaine assured him. "Besides, we'll probably just end up lazing around all day watching movies, so at least we'll be doing something productive with our time."

"M'not lazy," Ryan mumbled sleepily from where his face was half pressed into his pillow.

Blaine let out a silent laugh, hitting Ryan over the head with his own pillow.

"You're a life saver," Kurt said. "When should I bring her round?"

"I'm at Ryan's, but I guess you can just bring her round whenever...?" Blaine trailed off, Ryan sticking his thumb up in the air in confirmation, Blaine's pillow still on top of his head.

"Okay," Kurt replied. "I'll let you know before I leave."

"Okay," Blaine yawned.

"Thank you _so_ much," Kurt said gratefully.

"It's fine," Blaine replied. "I guess I'll see you soon?"

"See you soon," Kurt confirmed, ending the call.

Blaine placed his phone back on the nightstand and pulled his pillow off of Ryan's head, his boyfriend finally opening his eyes to look at Blaine.

"We're babysitting?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied. "That's okay, right?"

"Of course," Ryan smiled. "As long as you come down here and kiss me."

Blaine laughed, but snuggled into the sheets anyway and complied willingly.

Kurt arrived with Cleo around an hour later, the little girl a bundle of energy from the second Blaine opened the door.

"Blaine!" She grinned excitedly.

"Hey you," Blaine replied, lifting Cleo into his arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Where Ryan?" Cleo asked confusedly.

"He's still sleeping," Blaine explained. "But - I think you should go and wake him up!"

Cleo giggled, allowing Blaine to place her back on the floor. Blaine laughed as she ran off excitedly in the direction of the bedroom, giggling loudly.

"Thank you again for this," Kurt said, handing Blaine Cleo's bag. "I wouldn't get _anything_ done with that little monster running around all day."

Blaine laughed. "It's honestly fine," he said. "You know we love looking after her."

"Okay," Ryan said, his voice loud and high-pitched as he walked out of the bedroom with Cleo sitting on his shoulders. "Who set this little monkey on me?"

"It wasn't me!" Blaine exclaimed.

Cleo giggled loudly, pointing at Blaine. "It Blaine!"

Blaine gasped. "Liar!"

More laughter ensued from the almost-two year old as Ryan lifted her off his shoulders and placed her back down on the floor.

"Please give me my daughter back in one piece," Kurt laughed, lifting her up into his arms to hug her. "I'll be back later, okay baby?" He said to Cleo.

Cleo nodded affirmatively. "Love you Daddy." She said, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug.

Kurt smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, too," he replied. "Be good, okay missy?"

Cleo laughed, running to hide behind Blaine once she was back on the floor.

"You be good too, mister," Kurt teased, pointing authoritatively at Blaine.

"Excuse me," Blaine replied. "I am an extremely responsible adult, thank you very much."

Kurt laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, okay," he said. "I'll call you in a few hours and we can figure out when you want me to pick her up."

"Okay," Blaine said with a smile. "We'll see you later."

"Bye Cleo," Kurt said, grinning when Cleo held onto Blaine's leg and peeped her head around to see Kurt.

"Bye bye Daddy!"

Once Kurt was gone, Blaine lifted Cleo up into the air and span her around, grinning when she laughed loudly, kicking her feet around. He stopped a moment later, cuddling her tightly.

Cleo was by far one of Blaine's favourite people in the entire world. She was possibly the sweetest little girl he'd ever met in his life, and she was so honest about everything (obviously, she wasn't even two yet.)

"What do you wanna do today little one?" Blaine asked as Ryan made his way into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Cleo tilted her head to the side a little, clearing thinking hard about Blaine's question.

"Fun!" She exclaimed proudly after a moment, giggling when Blaine laughed at her.

"You're ridiculous," Blaine laughed, shaking his head at the one year old.

In the end, they decided to go to the beach. Kurt was quick to protest when he claimed that Cleo couldn't possibly go to the beach without a swimsuit or sun lotion. Blaine easily persuaded him, however, arguing that it really wouldn't be that expensive to buy a swimsuit for a one year old, and he had plenty of child-friendly sun lotion.

"You spoil her," Kurt concluded finally, clearly caving in.

"That's my job," Blaine said, his grin evident in his voice. "And I swear if you even attempt to pay me back for a single thing I buy today, I will slap you."

"But -"

"Nope," Blaine said. "Consider it an early birthday present."

"But you already got her so much!" Kurt whined. "I've seen the stack of princess-wrapped presents in your apartment!"

"Shh," Blaine said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, but it was obvious that he wasn't really angry. Sighing, he continued, "Fine. Just please, don't go overboard."

"I won't," Blaine replied. "I promise. Now go back to making fairy cakes or whatever it was that you were doing." He teased.

To say Cleo was excited to go to the beach would be an understatement. She was excitedly bouncing in her seat the entire car journey there, and she happily picked out the pinkest swimsuit she could find at the stall they visited.

"She's the cutest little thing ever," Ryan commented as he and Blaine watched her attempt to build a sandcastle, sticking shells in random places when she finally had a lump of sand that she was satisfied with in front of her.

Blaine let out a little hum of agreement, leaning his head on Ryan's shoulder and cuddling up to him.

"You guys just make the cutest family!" A passer-by exclaimed suddenly, causing Ryan to bite his lip in order to stop him from laughing and Blaine to sit up a little straighter.

"Um, she's not actually ours," Blaine said awkwardly. "We're just looking after her for a friend."

"Oh," the woman said. "Well, I still think you'd make an adorable family."

"Thank you," Ryan said politely, still trying to contain his laughter. "Well, we are pretty cute." He said to Blaine once she was gone.

"Hm, I think that's all down to Cleo," Blaine pointed out, nodding to the little girl who was _covered_ in sand.

"Blaine!" She exclaimed, reaching her hands out for him and grinning madly.

Blaine laughed, crawling over to her and helping her build her sandcastle.

They went in the water a little while later, and Cleo had the time of her life as Blaine lifted her a little into the air and ran through the water with her, letting her kick her legs around playfully. Every time he set her down where the water was shallow to try and catch his breath, he heard impatient little calls of "again, again!" until he finally caved in and repeated his actions again.

Needless to say, Cleo slept the entire way back to Ryan's apartment, curled up peacefully in her car seat as Blaine and Ryan talked to each other in hushed tones. She finally awoke again at dinner time, happily watching cartoons while she sat on Blaine's lap and ate.

"Sleepy," Cleo yawned, a piece of cucumber slipping out of her hand and back onto her plate.

Blaine grinned. "I'm not surprised, little miss," he said, putting the plate on the coffee table and reaching for a baby wipe to clean Cleo's hands and mouth. "You used up all of your energy today!"

Cleo giggled, leaning against Blaine tiredly and turned her attention back to the TV until she eventually fell asleep.

"Hey," Ryan whispered, kissing Blaine's cheek as he sat down next to him on the sofa.

"Hi," Blaine smiled. "What was that about?"

Ryan had been on the phone for almost an hour with a patient, and Blaine could hear him repeating the same things over and over from the living room.

Ryan sighed tiredly, leaning his head against Blaine's shoulder. "Just a parent concerned that her child's medicine isn't working even though she's only been taking it for half a day," he said. "Just be thankful she finally got the picture that medicine doesn't cure you that quickly, otherwise I probably would've punched a hole through the wall."

Blaine chuckled, kissing the top of Ryan's head.

"Why does everyone seem to view me as a bed?" Blaine questioned teasingly. "This little one's asleep on me, you're seconds away from falling asleep on me, Amy sleeps on me _all the time_..."

"Mm, you're just really comfy," Ryan replied in a teasing tone before sitting up and kissing Blaine softly on the lips. "Blaine?"

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, his golden eyes shimmering questioningly.

Ryan brought a hand up to Blaine's cheek, softly brushing his thumb back and forth as he leaned his forehead against Blaine's.

"I love you."


	6. Chapter 6

People seem to have stopped reviewing this story and I feel like nobody's reading it/you've all stopped enjoying it, so please let me know if you're still reading this so I know if I should keep updating it!

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><p>Blaine froze.<p>

"I love you so much," Ryan continued, not noticing how uncomfortable Blaine suddenly was. "I've kind of known for a while now but I just...seeing you with Cleo today it just...I feel like I fell even harder."

Blaine pulled back slightly, opening and closing his mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. "I..."

Ryan's face fell a little, but he quickly covered it back up. "It's okay," Ryan said. "You don't have to say it back if you're not ready."

"I, um..." Blaine pulled away completely, standing up and trying not to wake Cleo up. "I need to get Cleo home."

Blaine began to carefully rush around the apartment, grabbing his bag and Cleo's bag and trying to get his shoes on while carrying everything at the same time.

"I thought Kurt was picking her up?" Ryan said, trying not to show how upset he was.

"I just realised it would be a lot easier if I just took her back on my way home," Blaine said, pulling Cleo's coat on her as best as he could.

"Blaine -"

"I'll see you later," Blaine rushed out, kissing Ryan's cheek before all but running out of the apartment.

Only once Blaine was halfway to the subway station did he realise how stupid of an idea it was for him to attempt to get Cleo home by himself. There was no way he'd be able to go into a packed station with Cleo in his arms, let alone on an actual train with her.

He sat down on a bench close by and cuddled Cleo close to him, blinking sadly up at the sky when he felt a drop of rain hit his cheek. Thankfully, Kurt had packed Cleo's rain coat -_ you never know what the weather will turn out like, Blaine_ - so she was fully covered.

Pulling out his phone, Blaine dialled Kurt's number - feeling like a complete idiot.

"Blaine?" Kurt said immediately, his voice concerned. "Where are you?"

"What?"

"Ryan called me," Kurt replied. "He said you just ran off on him."

"I...I'm near the subway station," Blaine explained, blinking back tears. "And I need you."

"I'll be there soon," Kurt said reassuringly. "Is Cleo okay?"

"Yeah," Blaine said. "She's sleeping. I don't know how I haven't managed to wake her up yet."

"That sounds just like Cleo," Kurt laughed. "Blaine...are _you_ okay?"

"I don't know," Blaine said honestly. "I really don't know."

"Okay," Kurt sighed. "I'm leaving now. I won't be long, I promise."

"Okay," Blaine replied, pocketing his phone once they ended the call.

Blaine pulled Cleo even closer to him, burying his face in the hood of her coat where it was pulled over her head and staying like that until Kurt arrived.

"Blaine?" Kurt said quietly, as if Blaine was asleep.

Blaine looked up at Kurt, smiling sadly. Kurt lifted Cleo up and carefully carried her back to the car and sat her in her car seat.

"You're drenched," Kurt commented blankly when he saw the state of Blaine.

Blaine stood up, looking down at his clothes in disgust. He was soaked from head to toe, his clothes sticking to him uncomfortably.

"Come here," Kurt said simply, holding his arms open for Blaine, even though he looked like he'd just been pushed into a swimming pool.

Blaine fell easily into Kurt's arms, holding him tightly. "Did he tell you?"

"No," Kurt answered. "He said you freaked out on him and ran off, but he didn't tell me why."

Blaine nodded against Kurt. "Can we talk about it later?"

"Of course," Kurt said. "Come on, you're wet and it's cold. I have some towels in the car."

"You really do prepare for everything, don't you?" Blaine laughed as he got into the other side of the car and accepted a warm, fluffy towel from Kurt and sinking back into his seat in comfort.

"Blaine?"

Blaine blinked his eyes open, noticing that the car had stopped and they were parked outside Kurt's apartment.

"Hey sleepyhead," Kurt smiled. "I didn't know if you wanted to go home so I just came straight here..."

Blaine sat up a little, yawning and rubbing his eyes before speaking.

"No, I wanted to talk to you anyway," Blaine said. "I'm probably going to drive myself crazy otherwise."

"Okay," Kurt said. "Let's get inside, it'll be much warmer."

Kurt carried Cleo inside and into her bedroom without waking her, pulling her coat off carefully and kissing her forehead before quietly leaving.

"Do you want to shower?" Kurt asked. "No offense, but you kind of look like a drowned rat."

Blaine laughed. "Yes, please," he replied, unravelling himself from the towel.

"There are towels in the bathroom already and you can use any of the stuff that's in the shower," Kurt instructed. "Do you need to borrow some clothes?"

"Um...well I have the stuff that I wore yesterday but..."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Hold on," he said, making his way into his bedroom before returning a few moments later. "Here." He added, holding out a set of clothes for Blaine.

"Thank you," Blaine said quietly, accepting the clothes before shuffling towards the bathroom.

Kurt was on the sofa when Blaine emerged from the bathroom, curls wet and fluffy as he curled his fists into the sleeves of Kurt's over-sized pyjamas.

"Hey," Kurt said softly. "Are you okay?"

Blaine shrugged, walking over to the sofa and sitting next to Kurt, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"What happened?"

"Ryan told me he loved me." Blaine answered quietly, fiddling with the material of the shirt he was wearing in favour of looking at Kurt.

"Wait, I'm confused. Isn't that a good thing?"

"No, because I couldn't say it back," Blaine said, looking up at Kurt with tears in his eyes. "He was understanding, I guess. I mean, he said that I didn't have to say it back if I wasn't ready..."

"So what's the problem? I don't get it. I thought you really liked him?"

"I did," Blaine said. "I _do_. I didn't realise it until he said it, but I don't _love_ him," he said, a tear slipping down his cheek. "I do really like him, I think he's amazing and I have so much fun with him, but I'm not in love with him."

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt said sympathetically. "You have to tell him."

"I don't want to hurt him," Blaine cried, floods of tears finally leaving his eyes. "And I really don't want to lose him."

"Come here," Kurt said, holding his arms out for Blaine, who leaned gratefully into his embrace. "He's in love with you, Blaine," he pointed out, wrapping his arms around Blaine's body and holding him tightly. "Either way, you're going to end up hurting him. The longer you leave it, the more it's going to hurt him. At least if you tell him now it won't hurt as much. And I don't think you could lose him even if you wanted to," he added honestly. "Your relationship aside, that boy thinks the world of you and I think it would kill him not to at least try to be your friend."

"Why do I just screw up every relationship I have?" Blaine asked brokenly.

"Okay firstly, you've only been in two relationships - ever," Kurt laughed. "You didn't screw up the first one, your douche of an ex did that all by himself. And you didn't screw up this one either. You can't help how you feel; you can't help it if you're not in love with him."

"How did you know?" Blaine sniffed, looking up at Kurt. "How did you know you were really in love? That you wanted to spend the rest of your life with the same person."

Kurt swallowed, tears appearing in his eyes. "I guess I just...I just knew. Ethan was...he was everything. He was sweet and kind. He made me laugh even when I was having the worst of days and he always paid attention to the small details that most people wouldn't notice. I guess you can just tell, you know?"

Blaine leaned his head back against Kurt's shoulder. "He sounds amazing."

"He was," Kurt whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek as he found the wedding band that he still wore with his opposite hand and ran his finger over it.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said. "I shouldn't have brought it up, I -"

"It's okay," Kurt replied. "Honestly, I kind of like talking about him. It hurts like hell but I...I guess I don't really let myself think about him all that often. I try to keep myself busy with work and Cleo so that I can distract myself, but I should probably talk about him more."

"Well, just for the record," Blaine began. "If you ever want to talk to me about him, or anything, you can."

"Thank you," Kurt said, wiping his tears away. "And ditto. I'm always here for you."

"Even when I'm being stupid and self depreciating?"

"Even then," Kurt laughed. "Anyway...you know Ryan's coming to the party tomorrow, right?"

"I know," Blaine sighed. "I need to talk to him anyway...I might as well get it over with."

"It'll be okay," Kurt assured him. "I mean, he knows something's up anyway."

"I feel like such a jerk," Blaine said. "I shouldn't have run out on him like that."

"At least you didn't say something you might have regretted," Kurt pointed out. "Or it didn't come out in a harsher way than you intended. At least you can both just discuss it maturely."

"I hate being an adult," Blaine laughed. "Can't I just go back to being a kid?"

"Just wait until you _have_ kids," Kurt pointed out with a laugh. "As much as I love Cleo, she can be a handful sometimes - any kid can."

"My mum used to tell me I was like a little ball of energy running around the house," Blaine said. "So if that says anything about what my future kids are going to be like then I'm definitely screwed." He laughed.

"You're _still_ a little ball of energy," Kurt chuckled. "Nothing has changed there."

"Hey!" Blaine laughed, smacking Kurt playfully.

"Don't even try to deny it," Kurt laughed. "You know it's true."

"You're mean," Blaine pouted.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," Kurt teased, poking his tongue out.

"That's what _you_ think," Blaine countered.

"You're such a dork," Kurt said, shaking his head with laughter.

"Shh," Blaine said, laying his head back on Kurt's shoulder. "I'm upset, remember?"

"Idiot," Kurt laughed, kissing the top of Blaine's head.


	7. Chapter 7

People are still enjoying this, hurray! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews - although, I have to admit I did sit at my laptop and laugh a little at some of them. I find it really amusing that people always tell me that what I write is really realistic because most of it is complete bullcrap. I've never experience anything that I've written about - I'm not even 16 yet and the one 'relationship' I was in lasted 5 days and I broke up with him via MSN (I was a horrible 11 year old...) Anyway, thank you nonetheless! Please let me know what you think :)

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><p>"I think it's somebody's birthday today..." Kurt said loudly as he walked into Cleo's bedroom, Blaine following behind.<p>

Cleo opened her eyes, sitting up and grinning cutely.

"Me!" She shouted happily.

Kurt gasped. "What!? It's not _your_ birthday today!"

Giggling loudly, Cleo lifted her arms up. Kurt grinned and lifted her up, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Happy birthday, Princess," he said, hugging Cleo tightly.

"Presents!" Cleo said excitedly.

Kurt rolled his eyes, laughing at the two year old. "Breakfast first, missy," he said. "You have plenty of time for presents."

After breakfast, as promised, they sat down on the sofa and Cleo opened her presents, attempting to play with every new thing as soon as it was out of the wrapping paper despite Kurt continuously telling her to wait until she'd opened everything.

Soon enough, people were starting to arrive and Cleo was excitedly running around from person to person informing them that she was two now.

"Blaine," Kurt said, peeping his head into the kitchen, where Blaine was getting 'snack time' ready for the kids. "Ryan's here."

Blaine sighed, fiddling with the wrapper on the cupcake he was holding. "Would it be wrong of me to climb out of the window and run away right now?"

Kurt smiled sadly. "You have to face him sooner or later," he pointed out. "You might as well just get it out of the way."

"Okay," Blaine said. "Let me just finish up here; I'm nearly done."

"You can go talk in my bedroom, okay? Nobody will bother you in there."

Blaine nodded. "Can you just tell him that I...I'll be there soon?"

"Sure," Kurt smiled. "You know where I am if you need me, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine said quietly.

"Oh! My dad wants to meet you by the way," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. Blaine raised his eyebrow a little. "Don't ask. He's...just go with it."

"Okay," Blaine laughed. "Now shoo, let me finish my kitchen duties."

"You're a lifesaver!" Kurt called out as he finally left Blaine alone.

Blaine laughed, finishing up everything he was doing. Once he was done, he leaned his elbows against the kitchen counter, hiding his face behind his hands. He jumped a little when he heard the door creak open, letting out a little sigh of relief when he realised it was just Ryan.

"Hey," Ryan said awkwardly, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hi," Blaine replied. "Um...we should go talk."

Ryan nodded, following Blaine to Kurt's bedroom. Blaine sat down on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor while Ryan sat next to him.

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" Ryan said. Blaine looked up at him, a little shocked. "I guess I can just tell. You did sort of run away from me when I told you how I felt yesterday, and that's not a typical reaction."

"It's not...I really,_ really_ like you," Blaine began. "But as soon as you told me you loved me I just...I realised that I don't feel the same way about you. I have no idea why - I love spending time with you, and I do genuinely like being in a relationship with you - but I...I just don't -"

"Blaine, it's okay," Ryan said, oddly calm. "You don't have to explain it, I do understand. It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either," Blaine said honestly. "I really do love being with you..."

"It's him, isn't it?"

"Who?" Blaine asked confusedly.

"Kurt," Ryan said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"I...I don't..."

"I guess I just met you a few hours too late," Ryan said, smiling sadly. "But honestly, Blaine...tell him, before it's too late."

"Ryan I..." Blaine trailed off, not knowing what he was supposed to say. "How can you possibly know that I'm in love with him when_ I_ don't even know if I'm in love with him?"

"Because it's really obvious," Ryan smiled. "We could be having a normal discussion and you'd somehow bring him up, and when he walks in the room your eyes light up, even if you're upset."

"So why didn't you say anything?" Blaine asked. "If you thought I had feelings for someone else..."

"I don't know," Ryan said. "I guess I just thought I was overanalysing and being a paranoid boyfriend. Plus I...I do think it's possible to have feelings for more than one person at the same time."

Blaine laughed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to love, aren't I?"

"No," Ryan said, smiling at him. "I think you just...need to be honest with yourself. You think about other people more than you do yourself, and you're too scared to hurt them. I think that's the only problem you have with relationships."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Blaine admitted. "I honestly don't even know how I feel right now, and even if you're right...he had a two year old, Ryan."

"A two year old who adores you," Ryan pointed out.

"I'm nowhere near ready for a family!" Blaine exclaimed.

"Aren't you? Or are you just scared?"

"I...I don't know," Blaine said.

"Just...go with your heart instead of your head for once," Ryan said, smiling a little sadly at Blaine. "Do what feels right, and stop worrying about consequences - just deal with them if and when they happen."

Blaine nodded.

"I think I'm gonna go," he said. "I need some time, and I'm not really up to doing anything right now."

"I'm really sorry," Blaine replied, looking up at Ryan. "I really want to stay friends with you. As cliché as that sounds, I mean it."

"Me too," Ryan smiled. "And I promise we will, I just need a little space right now. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine agreed.

Ryan bent down a little to kiss Blaine's forehead before leaving the room without another word. Kurt soon replaced him, entering the room with a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Blaine looked up at Kurt, about to tell him that he was fine, and burst into tears.

"Blaine," Kurt said, rushing over to him and pulling him into a hug immediately. "What happened?"

"N-nothing," Blaine hiccupped. "We broke up b-but it wasn't messy."

"Why are you crying then?" Kurt asked confusedly.

Blaine just shook his head, holding onto Kurt tightly.

Honestly, he didn't know why he was crying. He was confused, mostly, but his feelings had also just hit him like a slap in the face, and he didn't know how to react or what to do about it. His heart was thumping in his chest and he felt slightly dizzy, but he needed to calm down.

"I'm sorry," Blaine sniffed once he'd stopped crying a little.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Kurt said, pulling back from the hug. "Are you okay?"

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know,"

"What's wrong?"

Blaine shook his head. "I just...I guess Ryan made me realise something and I...I don't know."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Blaine said. "Not right now, anyway. I just want to go and spoil Cleo rotten and then...I don't know, maybe later or something? I need to figure out how I'm feeling before I try and talk to you about it."

"Okay," Kurt smiled. "Let's go and sing happy birthday then, before Cleo literally causes a riot."

"You mean she hasn't already done that?" Blaine asked with a laugh as he followed Kurt back through to the living room.

They sung happy birthday to Cleo and had cake a little while before everyone left.

"I think this little one played a bit too hard today," Burt said, emerging from the kitchen with Cleo in his arms, her head rested on his shoulder and her dummy in her mouth.

"At least she's worn out," Kurt teased, going over to his dad and taking Cleo from him. "I think we best get you to bed."

After getting Cleo to say goodnight to everyone in a quiet, sleepy voice, Kurt put her to bed, tucking her into her sheets and kissing her cheek. He quietly left the room to find Blaine cleaning up the living room.

"Excuse me," Kurt said. "What do you think you're doing?"

Blaine stopped dead in his tracks, looking at Kurt in confusion. "Tidying up?"

"Nope," Kurt said. "I refuse to let you clean up after my child."

Burt let out a snort from where he sat on the sofa, rolling his eyes at his son.

"Kurt, I really don't mind," Blaine argued.

"Dad, help," Kurt whined.

"Sorry, kiddo," Burt laughed. "I'm on Blaine's side."

"But you- I...fine," Kurt sighed. "Damn you and your morals."

Blaine grinned, happily making his way into the kitchen to clean up in there.

"You guys are cute," Burt said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Come here," Burt said, motioning for Kurt to sit next to him and only beginning to speak when he could hear the water running in the kitchen. "You know that kid's smitten with you, right?"

"Dad, he literally just broke up with his boyfriend," Kurt said. "Today."

"That doesn't mean anything," Burt said. "And you're lying to me if you tell me you don't have feelings for him, too."

"Can you just...not," Kurt said desperately. "_Please_. You know I'm nowhere near ready to date someone again...not yet. No."

"Kurt, as long as you tell yourself you're not ready, you're not going to be ready."

"Dad, I _can't_," Kurt said, his blue eyes filling with tears. "I still come home from work and expect him to be here. Every time I wake up and I realise I'm in bed alone, I expect to leave my bedroom to find him reading Cleo a story or cooking breakfast. And every time I realise he _isn't_ going to be here when I get home and he's not going to be dancing round the kitchen, singing completely out of tune while he burns his waffles in the morning, it's like my heart is being ripped out all over again and I _hate_ it."

"That feeling is never going to go away if you don't let yourself move on, Kurt," Burt said softly. "Do you think I just woke up and forgot all about your mom when she died?"

"No, but I -"

"You know Ethan wouldn't want you to hold onto him forever," he said. "What do you think he would say to you if he were here right now?"

"He'd probably tell me to stop being an idiot," Kurt laughed, instantly wiping away the tears that fell from his eyes. "He'd tell me that he wants me to be happy, and that it's okay to move on with someone else."

"And he'd be completely right," Burt said.

"I miss him," Kurt said brokenly, more tears falling down his cheeks. "I keep waiting for it to stop hurting so goddamn much and it never does. It still feels like he died yesterday."

Burt took Kurt into his arms, rubbing his back gently. "I know, buddy," he said softly. "It's been nearly thirty years and I still miss your mom like hell, but I promise you it'll get easier. You have to let go though, Kurt, otherwise it's still going to hurt just as much as the day before."

The tap in the kitchen had been turned off a long time ago, and as much as Blaine was trying not to listen to their conversation, it was kind of hard not to hear every single word that was being said.

"How do I even know he likes me?" Kurt asked, wiping his eyes.

"Kurt, a blind man can see how he feels about you," Burt laughed. "Clearly neither of you do, though."

"I'm scared," Kurt admitted.

"Of what?"

"Everything," Kurt said. "Of actually opening myself up to someone else, of screwing up my relationship with Blaine if it doesn't work or things get uncomfortable. I'm scared that I _won't_ be able to open up to him. He needs - and deserves - a stable relationship after the crap that he's been through since I met him, and I honestly don't know if I can give that to him."

"You're the single most compassionate person I know, Kurt, and I'm not just saying that because you're my son. I know that it's scary, but all you have to do is be there for him when he needs you."

"I really like him, Dad," Blaine's heart pounded in his chest as he leaned against the door, not even pretending not to be listening anymore. "I haven't felt this way about anyone in a really long time, and it scares the crap out of me. I really don't want to hurt him - I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I hurt him."

"You won't," Burt said. "You couldn't hurt a fly, Kurt. Look, it's up to you what you do, but please try to move on, whether you do that with Blaine or without him."

"I will."


	8. Chapter 8

By far my favourite chapter so far! Please review & let me know what you think! :)

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><p>Kurt let out a groan at the sound of his phone ringing, blindly reaching out to grab the object.<p>

"'Lo?" He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes before looking at the clock on his nightstand.

_4.03 am._

"Kurt?"

"Amy?" Kurt said confusedly. "What's wrong?"

"Blaine's in the hospital," Amy said.

Kurt instantly began to panic, thinking of the worst case scenarios even though he had no idea what had happened.

"What do you...what- what happened?"

"He got hit by a car, when he was on his way home I think," Amy explained.

"Oh god," Kurt choked out. "I should've just driven him home. I...oh god,"

_Blaine emerged from the kitchen a little bit after Burt made his way to bed._

_"The kitchen's clean," he said quietly, standing just outside of the doorway while Kurt looked at him over the back of the sofa._

_"Thank you," Kurt smiled. _

_Blaine shrugged. "It's no problem, I swear,"_

_"I mean it," Kurt argued. "You honestly made this day run so much smoother. Looking after Cleo yesterday, keeping the kids entertained for most of the day, sorting out the food and cleaning up...you're a lifesaver."_

_"I didn't mind," Blaine pointed out. "Honestly, I had fun."_

_"And that is why you're going to make an amazing teacher one day," Kurt smiled._

_"Thank you," Blaine said shyly. "I, um...I should probably get going. It's getting late."_

_"Do you need a ride home?"_

_"I think I'm just gonna get the subway," Blaine replied. "I kind of just wanna walk for a bit. Thank you, though."_

_"Okay," Kurt said. "Goodnight, Blaine."_

_"Goodnight," Blaine said awkwardly, pulling his bag onto his shoulder and leaving the apartment._

"Kurt, this isn't your fault," Amy said. "It's not like you were gonna force him to get into the car."

"I'm coming to the hospital," Kurt said, already throwing his sheets off of himself and going into the living room to find his dad sleepily leaving the guest room to see what all of the noise was about. "I'll be there soon."

"What's going on?" Burt asked once Kurt was done on the phone.

"Blaine got hit by a car," Kurt said, frantically rushing around his apartment. "He's in the hospital, I need...I need to-"

"Kurt, calm down," Burt said gently, grabbing Kurt's hands and holding them still when he began throwing everything on the floor in an attempt to find his keys. "Calm down, or you're going to end up hurting _yourself_."

"I can't calm down!" Kurt shouted. "I can't calm down, dad. It's happening all over again. I can't lose Blaine, too...I can't -"

"Kurt, breathe," Burt said, pulling his son towards him and holding him close as he began to cry. "I'm sure he's fine, buddy. But I'm not letting you leave this apartment until you calm the hell down, or you're going to end up getting yourself into a car accident and that's not going to help anybody."

"Daddy?"

Kurt turned his head away at the sound of Cleo's sleepy voice, unable to let his little girl see him crying. Burt rubbed Kurt's back a little, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Be careful," he whispered to Kurt before pulling away and making his way over to Cleo, lifting the two year old into his arms. "Daddy's fine, baby girl. Let's get you back to bed and I'll read you a story, okay?"

Cleo nodded tiredly, leaning against Burt as he carried her back into her bedroom.

Kurt attempted to calm down on the way to the hospital, but he was still freaking out the entire way there. He all but ran to Blaine's room once he was told where it was, almost crying in relief when he saw the door open, Blaine sitting up and smiling timidly as he talked to Amy and Ryan - very much alive.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed out, going straight into his room and sitting on the edge of his bed, gently taking hold of his hands. "You're okay."

"We'll give you two a minute," Amy said, leaving the room with Ryan and closing the door behind them.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't really know," Blaine admitted. "I had so much on my mind, I...I think I blacked out while I was walking, and the next thing I knew I was flying over the roof of a car. I'm okay though. I mean, I'm covered in cuts and bruises, but I'm not seriously injured."

"I was so scared," Kurt said. "Amy called and said you were in the hospital and my mind just completely jumped to the conclusion that you were dead or something."

"I'm okay," Blaine said softly, squeezing Kurt's hands a little.

"Blaine, I..." Kurt closed his eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek. "I love you. I guess I've known for a while, but I've been so scared to actually do anything about it. But I'm sick of pretending like you're 'just a friend' to me because you're _so_ much more to me than that. Tonight made me realise that I could lose anybody at literally any second, and I don't want to lose you - especially with you not knowing how I feel about you. I'm so, _so_ in love with you."

"I love you, too," Blaine said quietly, his heart pounding against his chest. "I didn't even realise I was falling for you, but I guess there's a reason that I was so willing to come to the hospital that first day we met."

Kurt leaned his forehead gently against Blaine's, being careful of his bruises.

"I'm never letting you make your own way home again," he said, eliciting a laugh from Blaine. "I love you."

"I love you, too,"

And finally, _finally_, Kurt gently kissed Blaine, squeezing his hands tightly despite the bruises covering his knuckles. They stayed like that until Blaine let out a little noise of discomfort, shifting a little on the bed.

"Sorry," Kurt said, pulling away.

"It's okay," Blaine replied. "It just kind of hurts."

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

"I wasn't," Blaine admitted. "They had me on morphine while I was asleep, but it's obviously worn off."

"Why don't you ask for some more?"

"Because this moment means way too much for me to be loopy on painkillers," Blaine admitted.

Kurt smiled. "As sweet as that is, you're in pain," Kurt said, running his fingers gently through Blaine's loose curls. "And I kind of wanna see you loopy on painkillers, now that you mention it."

Blaine laughed, pushing Kurt playfully. "You're a jerk."

"I'm not even sorry," Kurt grinned, leaning back down to kiss Blaine.

"Mgh, yeah," Blaine said, shifting uncomfortably again. "Everything really hurts."

Kurt was about to reply when there was a knock on the door, Amy peeping her head inside.

"Can we come back in yet?"

"Yeah," Kurt smiled. "We're just discussing how entertaining it would be to watch Blaine loops on pain medication."

"Jerk," Blaine laughed, slapping Kurt in the chest. "Seriously though, I'm in so much pain right now."

"You know you can control your pain medication, right?" Ryan interjected.

"What?"

Ryan laughed. "You're on a drip, so all you have to do is press a button and voila."

Not too long later, Blaine was cuddled up to Kurt, no longer in too much pain unless he moved, and incredibly loopy.

"I want a puppy," Blaine said, sounding vaguely like a young child.

"No," Amy said instantly, laughing at her best friend when he pouted in protest.

"But they're so cute!" Blaine said enthusiastically, confused as to why all of his friends were laughing at him.

"You're close enough to being a puppy yourself," Amy pointed out. "I can't deal with another one running around the apartment."

"Kuuurt," Blaine whined, looking up at him with a pout.

"Don't look at me," Kurt laughed. "Amy does have a point. Your apartment is way too small for a puppy."

"Yours isn't!" Blaine exclaimed proudly.

"No. Nope, no way," Kurt laughed. "No thank you. I do not want dog hairs all over my apartment."

"Ryan?" Blaine asked, getting confused at how Ryan could help him.

"I can't help you!" Ryan chuckled.

Blaine sighed dramatically. "Fine," he said. "No puppy."

"Hey, maybe one day," Kurt pointed out, not realising how he was making it seem like he planned to be with Blaine for a really long time.

"Mm," Blaine agreed dreamily, his eyes shut and his head against Kurt's chest. "I want to live in a big house with loads of kids and puppies forever and ever."

Kurt laughed. "I'm not sure how I feel about that," he said. "That also kind of makes you sound like a creep."

"I mean _my_ kids!" Blaine defended, like it was completely obvious what he meant. "Lots and lots and lots of them!"

"Yeah, well, keep dreaming," Kurt chuckled.

Blaine smiled and looked up at Kurt, a cute little grin appearing.

"I like your face," he said truthfully.

"I like your face, too," Kurt giggled.

"My face is grey," Blaine wondered aloud.

"Your face isn't grey, dummy," Kurt corrected, grinning. "You have a few bruises."

"Mm...still not pretty."

"Is too," Kurt argued.

"Is not," Blaine said, sticking his tongue out like a child. "Yours is prettier."

"Nuh-uh,"

"Yup," Blaine said affirmatively. "I like your eyes."

"I like yours too," Kurt said, unable to come up with anything more creative as his heart was thudding in his chest.

Blaine giggled. "They look like the ocean," he said, his face becoming puzzled. "No. They look like a storm...like an ocean during a storm."

"How are you this coherent right now?" Kurt asked, half out of curiosity and half to get Blaine to shut up before he did something stupid like propose.

Blaine stayed grinning dopily at Kurt for a few moments before he became confused, his eyebrows scrunching together. "What?"

Kurt laughed. "Okay, I think you need to get some sleep, mister," Kurt said.

"M'kay," Blaine yawned, snuggling closer to Kurt. "Love you."

Kurt's heart jumped in his chest. "I love you, too,"

Blaine was asleep in a matter of minutes, emitting soft breathing noises, and leaving Kurt to ask Ryan the question he'd been dying to ask basically since he'd arrived.

"This isn't weird, is it?"

Ryan shook his head truthfully. "No. I actually think I'm okay. I mean, I obviously still love him and yeah...it does kind of hurt but I'm not...I'm okay. He's happy, that's more important."

"You're a really good guy," Kurt said. "And I mean that. You'll find your person eventually, I promise."

Ryan smiled. "I know," he said. "Just...look after him, okay? He's special."

"I know," Kurt smiled, looking down at the boy in his arms. "He's everything."


	9. Chapter 9

So, my laptop is broken and I have to type everything up on my phone, so please excuse my late updates (its really painful to write 2k words over the span of a few days, let alone in one sitting...my thumbs hurt). I also have no word count so if I suddenly start posting really long or short chapters you know why! Enjoy, and please review!

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><p>"I'm just saying," Blaine said as they entered Kurt's apartment one afternoon, throwing his bag on the floor and shrugging his jacket off. "If you're going to work in a restaurant, don't act like a moody bitch."<p>

"Woah," Kurt laughed, pulling Blaine down onto the sofa and massaging his shoulders a little. "What's got you in such a bad mood?"

When Blaine got out of the hospital, Kurt had gotten Ryan to babysit Cleo for the night and they'd had dinner at Kurt's apartment before sitting together and talking about, well, everything. They talked about their past relationships and their fears of getting into a new relationship - especially with someone who meant so much to them. They'd agreed that no matter what happened - if someone got uncomfortable or scared, or if they had a fight - they would always make sure they talked to each other about it instead of running away.

"My parents," Blaine sighed. "They're flying out to New York for an entire week, and I'm half tempted to go find a cliff to jump off of instead of spending a week with them."

"Surely they're not that bad?" Kurt asked.

Blaine snorted. "Oh just you wait. I can guarantee you they won't be happy about us dating."

"So?" Kurt asked, causing Blaine to raise an eyebrow in reply. "I'm serious. You're an adult, Blaine. They can't control your life anymore."

"I know," Blaine said. "I know, I'd just rather them not be here. At least Cooper will be with them, I guess."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kurt said, kissing him on the forehead.

"I hope so," Blaine sighed.

"Are you sure that's all that's wrong?" Kurt asked. "You look really bummed out."

Blaine smiled sadly. "Yeah, it's just been a really long week," he said, leaning back against the sofa. "I'm exhausted."

"Can I do anything to make you feel better?"

"Kiss me?" Blaine suggested with a smile.

Kurt grinned a little, leaning down to press his lips to Blaine's.

"Having Cleo in playgroup all day is really convenient sometimes," Kurt mumbled against Blaine's lips.

"Oh yeah?" Blaine teased. "And why is that?"

Kurt pushed Blaine down by his shoulders until he was lying horizontally along the sofa, reattaching their lips.

"Because," he said in-between kisses. "Now we can stay right here, and we don't have to worry about my two year old walking in on something that would scar her for the rest of her life."

Blaine laughed loudly. "Yeah, let's not ever get ourselves into that situation, please."

"Wasn't planning on it." Kurt chuckled, silencing any other reply Blaine may have had with another kiss.

Blaine's family arrived a few days later, and he'd invited them over to Kurt's house for dinner. Kurt had pointed out that his apartment was much bigger and it'd be easier to accommodate both of Blaine's parents, and Cooper, his wife and daughter, and...well, Blaine had been far too anxious to argue.

"Uncle Blaine!" Was the first thing that Blaine and Kurt heard when they opened the door, a small child throwing herself towards Blaine.

"Woah," Blaine laughed, lifting her up into his arms. "How much sugar have you had today, missy?"

She giggled loudly, leaning her head against Blaine's.

"Hi Cooper, how are you? Oh, I'm fine thanks, Blaine. I missed you too." Cooper mocked as they entered the apartment.

"Don't be jealous," a woman - who appeared to be his wife - laughed. "You know she's everybody's favourite."

"Oh!" Blaine exclaimed. "Kurt, this is my mom, my dad, Cooper - my brother - and his wife, Lucy. And this little devil," he said, tickling the little girl in his arms. "Is Zoe."

"It's nice to meet you all," Kurt smiled, about to continue when he heard a loud 'uh-oh!' come from Cleo's bedroom.

"Daddy!" She called, running out into the living room, a huge splat of yellow paint down the front of her blue dress. "I gotted the paint on me."

"Cleo," Kurt sighed, making his way over to the two year old and kneeling down. "I told you to be careful, baby."

"I gotted it on the floor as well," she admitted guiltily.

Kurt sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, let's just get you out of this dress and then we'll try and clean up the floor."

He stood back up and held his hand out for Cleo, cringing a little when his hand got covered in sticky yellow paint. He took her into her bedroom and got her out of her dress, being careful not to get paint anywhere else.

"Do you need any help?" Blaine asked a moment later, peeping his head around the door.

"Can you take this into the kitchen before I make an even bigger mess, please?" Kurt asked, holding out the dress.

"Sure," Blaine smiled, taking the dress from Kurt. "Do you want me to try and clean it, or?"

"If you don't mind," Kurt replied.

"Of course not," Blaine said, kissing Kurt briefly before making his way to the kitchen.

Kurt got Cleo changed into some clean clothes before kneeling down on the floor, moving her paints out of the way and staring at the stain on the floor. He let out a groan, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Daddy mad at me?" Cleo asked, a sad expression on her face.

Kurt sighed, shaking his head. "No, baby," he said, lifting the two year old up and sitting her on his lap, hugging her tightly. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. You just need to be more careful with your paints in future, okay?"

Cleo nodded. "Sorry daddy."

"It's okay, baby girl," Kurt said, smiling as he kissed the top of her head. "Can you go and get Blaine for me, please?"

Cleo grinned and nodded, jumping off of Kurt's lap and running out of the room, shouting Blaine's name.

Blaine ended up being all but dragged to Cleo's room by the two year old, causing him to laugh adoringly as he tried to keep up with her little, but speedy, legs.

"Do you have any idea how to get clean this carpet without staining it?" Kurt asked almost desperately.

"Um..."

"I can do it if you like?" Blaine's mom interrupted, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"I, uh...if you don't mind?" Kurt said, looking between Blaine and his mother.

"Of course not," she replied, taking Kurt's place on the floor.

About half an hour, and several cleaning products, later, the carpet looked as good as new and everyone was making their way into the kitchen for dinner, only it was extremely difficult to get Cleo to sit in her highchair.

"Daddy, no!" Cleo whined, grasping tightly onto Kurt's shoulders and resisting going into the highchair as much as possible.

"Cleo," Kurt groaned. "The sooner you sit in your chair, the sooner you can get out of it."

"No!" Cleo shouted, bursting into tears.

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. "Excuse me," he said, exiting the room to take Cleo to her bedroom.

"Aren't you going to help?" Blaine's mom asked once Kurt was gone.

"Mom, don't," Cooper sighed.

"I'm serious," Blaine's mom said. "Blaine needs to know that if he's going to get into this relationship then he has to be prepared to be a father to that little girl."

"She's not my child," Blaine said quietly, pushing his food around with his fork. "Kurt and I discussed that and he said he doesn't expect me to try and be a dad to her, especially this early in our relationship."

"You can't have a relationship with the man and act like his daughter doesn't exist, Blaine."

"Mom!" Cooper exclaimed. "Stop trying to live his life for him."

Mrs Anderson didn't have any time to reply as they saw Kurt leaving Cleo's room, the teary eyed two year old clutching his hand tightly.

"I'm sorry, I -" Kurt stopped mid sentence as Blaine stood up from his seat and ran out of the apartment.

"Well done," Cooper muttered, standing up. "I'll talk to him." He said, more to Kurt than anyone else.

Cooper found Blaine sitting on the steps outside Kurt's apartment, his head buried in his hands.

"You okay, Squirt?" Cooper asked, sitting down next to Blaine's and placing a hand on his back.

Blaine sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "She's right," he said simply. "I can't be with Kurt and ignore the fact that he has a baby."

"You also don't have to become her father," Cooper countered. "Nobody should push you into doing something you're not ready for, and you're better off waiting to become really involved in her life than jumping into it all and resenting her for it a few years down the line."

"What if I'm never ready?" Blaine asked, looking at Cooper with tears in his eyes.

"You will be," Cooper said. "God only knows I was petrified when I found out we were having Zoe, and now she's my entire world."

"But what if I'm not? Its not fair to lead Kurt along on the promise of...what? I may be ready to be a father to Cleo one day? I can't do that to him."

"Blaine, don't do this. If you break up with him, you're not only losing to mom and dad, you're losing somebody who looks at you like you're the sun and the moon. That's something I never saw with you and Tyler in three years, and you've only been with Kurt for a few weeks."

"I miss you," Blaine commented, leaning his head on Coopers shoulder. "You need to visit New York more often."

"I miss you, too," Cooper smiled. "And I was thinking, maybe we could fly out here for a few weeks during the summer?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Cooper laughed. "And maybe you and Kurt could fly out to LA with the little one?"

Blaine scoffed. "Yeah, if we even make it that far."

"You will," Cooper assured him. "But you won't if you don't even give it a shot."

Blaine was quiet for the rest of the evening, relieved for the distraction when Cleo demanded that he read her a bedtime story.

Only, as he laid down next to the two year old, reading the lines with silly voices as she giggled enthusiastically, it really hit him how much he loved not only Kurt, but Cleo too.

Once the story was finished, Blaine got out from under the covers and set Cleo's storybook on her bedside table, switching the lamp off and tucking her in.

"Goodnight, little one," he said softly, kissing her forehead.

"Night night," Cleo yawned. "Love you, Blaine."

A smile appeared on Blaine's face as he replied, "I love you, too,"

He quietly crept out of the room, closing the door softly behind him, still smiling at the two year olds words.

"What're you so happy about?" Kurt asked as he entered the living room from the kitchen, placing two mugs on the coffee table.

"Somebody just told me she loved me," Blaine said with a grin.

"Oh, really?" Kurt asked teasingly, though it was obvious how happy it made him. "Do I have to fight for your love now, huh?"

"Hmm, I think you can share me," Blaine said, wrapping his arms around Kurt's neck. "There's enough of me to go around."

"And what if I want you all to myself?" Kurt asked decisively, pulling Blaine closer by his waist.

Blaine didn't even bother replying, pressing his lips to Kurt's instead. They continued kissing in the middle of the living room until they heard an awkward cough come from the kitchen.

They pulled apart to find Blaine's entire family looking at them. His mom seemed disturbed, his dad looked like he just wanted to leave, Lucy was trying not to laugh, and Cooper was giving Blaine a thumbs up with the hand that wasn't keeping a sound asleep Zoe hoisted up on his waist, a grin on his face.

"We're leaving," Mrs Anderson said bleakly. "We'll call you tomorrow to arrange a lunch or something."

"Okay," Blaine said quietly.

"I'll see you out," Kurt said, squeezing Blaine's hand gently before leading the Anderson's to the door.

Mr and Mrs Anderson left first, followed by Lucy.

"Look after him," Cooper said quietly to Kurt. "And if he says or does anything stupid, just call me and I'll be back here in a heartbeat to kick some sense into him. As much as I love my baby brother, he can be completely oblivious sometimes."

Kurt laughed, "I will."

After everyone had left, Kurt and Blaine cuddled up under a blanket on the sofa and watched a movie together.

"I'm so in love with you," Blaine said, his voice muffled.

"Ditto," Kurt smiled, holding Blaine a tiny bit tighter.


	10. Chapter 10

Slightly shorter chapter which I did type up on a computer, but the word count disappeared so I just finished when I felt like it came to a natural ending. Pre-warning that I cried while writing this...so you may need to go grab some tissues before you start! Please review!

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><p>Blaine waited until the next morning to really talk to Kurt about why he freaked out at dinner, and when he woke up with the warm, safe comfort of Kurt's arms wrapped around him, he figured that there was no time like the present.<p>

"Good morning, gorgeous," Kurt said, his voice hoarse with sleep as he kissed Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine smiled to himself, turning himself around so he was facing Kurt.

"Hi," he said softly, smiling lovingly at Kurt. "Can we...um...talk about yesterday?"

"If you want to," Kurt said, playing with Blaine's curls. "But you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I do," Blaine said truthfully. "Because it also made me realise something."

"Okay," Kurt said, not saying another word as he gave Blaine some time to figure out what he wanted to say.

"When you left the kitchen at dinner, my mom started saying that I should help you handle Cleo, as that if I wanted to be in a relationship with you then I couldn't 'ignore' Cleo," Blaine explained.  
>"You know that's not true though, right? She's not your responsibility and you're not her dad - you don't have to pretend to be," Kurt assured him.<p>

"I know," Blaine confirmed. "I just got overwhelmed having my mom there, judging me with every breath I took."

"What do you mean it made you realise something then?"

"It was partly Cooper and partly Cleo...when I ran outside, Cooper came and talked to me. He said that when he found out he was having Zoe he was terrified, but she very quickly became his entire world. He also said that just because the idea of having a family scares me now, doesn't mean it always will. Cooper can be the biggest idiot in the world sometimes, but he told me that it wasn't worth losing the most important person in the world to me because of my mom," he said softly. "And he was right. When I was reading Cleo a bedtime story last night...I realised that I could see myself doing that with you right by my side one day - whether that be with Cleo or another baby. Then she told me she loved me and I...I realised that I can picture myself being a family with you," he said truthfully.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not saying we should run off and get married," Blaine said. "And we've not even been dating that long, so I'm not saying that we should move in together and be parents to Cleo either. But, do I want to slowly become more involved in Cleo's life and stop running in the other direction anytime I have even a tiny bit of authority? I really think I do."

"Blaine," Kurt sighed. "I'm really glad you feel that way, honestly, but...I have to put Cleo way, way before my own feelings. You're asking me to let you into her life on a maybe - maybe it'll all be fine, but maybe you'll freak out and call it quits in a few years. She's already attached to you, I don't want her to think you're a permanent fixture just to drag you away from her if it becomes too much."

"But you can let me into her life on less than a maybe?" Blaine asked. "Kurt, I can't promise that we're not going to end up breaking up. We could break up in three days or three years, or we could be together for the rest of our lives. Nobody can predict that, and you can't just shut me out because you're scared that's going to happen."

Kurt let out a shaky breath, pulling away from Blaine completely and sitting up. "You know that opening up to you terrifies me, Blaine. You _know_ that this relationship isn't easy for me -"

"What and it's super easy for me?" Blaine asked. "I don't know if you remember, but I found out a few months ago that my boyfriend had been _cheating_ on me -"

"_My husband died_!" Kurt all but screamed, a deafening silence following.

"Kurt," Blaine said quietly. "I _know_. But you know that he would want you to move on."

"That doesn't make it any easier!" Kurt cried, unable to stop the stream of tears that began falling from his eyes. "I love him, Blaine. Not loved - _love, _and that's never going to go away. He's never going to stop being Cleo's father, and he's never going to stop being the person that I started a family - started a _life_ - with. I really love you Blaine, and god...I'm so glad that you're becoming more open to the idea of being a part of this family, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy for me to just let you in."

"I'm not saying it will," Blaine said, crawling forward to hold Kurt's hands. "And I'm not asking you to start introducing me as 'Cleo's other father' tomorrow, but I am saying that I want to...get to know her better, I guess. I want to walk her to school when you have to work early, or tuck her into bed when you fall asleep on the sofa because you've had a long day at work."

"I'm sorry," Kurt sobbed, really breaking down as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "I'm sorry, I just...she's everything, Blaine. Even though she's biologically mine, she's the only reminder I have that Ethan was real, and it absolutely terrifies me to think that one day he's going to be replaced."

"He's never going to be replaced, Kurt," Blaine said. "Never."

"But he is," Kurt pointed out. "At least to Cleo. She won't remember all the nights he sung her to sleep, or know how head over heels in love with her he was. He's never going to be able to teach her how to ride a bike, or hold her when she goes through her first break up. He's going to be practically non-existent to her, and I hate the thought of that."

"Don't let him become non-existent then. Make sure you always tell her stories about how she had the most amazing daddy in the world, who loved her more than anything."

"I want him back," Kurt cried, falling easily into Blaine's embrace when he enveloped him in a hug. "It's been nearly two years and I still miss him so, so much."

"I know," Blaine whispered, kissing the top of Kurt's head. "I promise you it will get easier, but only if you let yourself accept it."

Apparently Kurt fell back asleep after that, because he found himself waking up in an empty bed, the sound of Blaine's singing and Cleo's little giggles filling the apartment alongside what sounded like a Disney soundtrack.

He climbed out of bed and made his way to his bedroom door, opening it and leaning against the door frame, smiling softly.

Blaine was dancing around the living room with Cleo (Kurt was going to kill Blaine for letting her stay in her pyjamas past midday) and singing at the top of his lungs. Cleo seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly, laughing loudly as Blaine span her around under his arm several times.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed excitedly when she spotted him watching the pair, running over to Kurt and jumping into his arms when he bent down and opened them up for her.

Kurt looked up while he hugged Cleo tightly, smiling mutually at Blaine.

'I love you,' he mouthed, closing his eyes happily when Blaine did the same back.


	11. Chapter 11

I got my laptop back *happy dance* On another note, I wrote this in my notebook during Spanish yesterday and my handwriting is terrible, meaning I couldn't actually understand a word I wrote, so if any part of this makes no sense then I'm sorry! Please review!

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><p>*5 Months Later*<p>

After that, things got a lot worse for Blaine. Apparently, he hadn't saved as much money as he thought he had, and he was struggling to keep up with his half of the rent. Amy had understood at first, and she's paid his half of the rent while he looked for a job, but he was struggling to find one and Amy couldn't afford to pay the entirety of the rent.

He came home from school one day to find a letter taped to his bedroom door. He scrunched his eyebrows together a little, crossing the room to his bedroom.

"Amy?" He called out, pulling the piece of paper off the door. "What's this?" He asked when she came out of the kitchen.

"It's an eviction notice," Amy said blankly. "We have a week to move out."

"But..."

"We've missed more than two months of rent, Blaine. I can't afford to pay for this place by myself."

"Where am I supposed to go?!" Blaine exclaimed. "I have no money!"

"You're never here anyway, Blaine! You're almost always at Kurt's!"

"You're mad at me," Blaine said, his hazel eyes growing sad.

"Yes, I'm mad!" Amy shouted. "I have no money either, you know. But unlike you, I don't have an amazing boyfriend that I can go stay with in the meantime. We're only getting kicked out because of you anyway!"

"Ouch," Blaine said dejectedly.

"Can you just...go away Blaine. Go to Kurt's or something."

"This is my home, too, you know," Blaine argued.

"This stopped being your home when you stopped paying for it," Amy pointed out. "And I kind of want to punch you in the face, so please...just go away."

So Blaine went to Kurt's. He spent the entire journey there trying desperately not to cry, but he finally broke when Kurt opened the door for him.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, wondering why his boyfriend was standing on his doorstep in floods of tears. "What happened?" He asked, pulling him into his arms.

"We got kicked out," Blaine cried, burying his face in Kurt's arm.

"What?" Kurt asked confusedly. "Wait, come inside - it's freezing out there."

They made their way inside and cuddled up on the sofa, and Blaine explained everything from the moment he ran out of savings, right down to his argument with Amy.

"Why didn't you tell me you were struggling with money? I could have helped you."

"Because...I guess I've been trying to prove to you that I'm responsible enough to be a father to Cleo."

"Sweetheart...you have_ nothing_ to prove to me. If I didn't want you in her life, you wouldn't be in her life."

"I'm just terrified that you're going to realise that I'm too young for you, and you want somebody more mature than me," he sniffed sadly.

Kurt kissed Blaine softly. "Never," kiss, "gonna," kiss, "happen."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Kurt smiled.

"Good, because you're all I have right now," Blaine frowned. "My best friend hates me, I'm homeless -"

"Move in with me," Kurt blurted out. "I don't...I didn't mean for it to come out like that but..."

"We've only been together for seven months,"

"So?"

"I have no money,"

"Blaine, I don't care,"

"I'm not letting you let me live here for nothing,"

"So pay me back when you get some money," Kurt said. "I love you, Blaine. I don't care about the money. I'd rather you live here for nothing than be out on the streets. I just want to be with you."

"What about Amy? She hates me."

"Give her some space, and then apologise. There's nothing more you can do."

Blaine sighed, leaning against Kurt. "You really want to live with me?"

"I do," Kurt said. "I think...I'm ready for you to be a part of this family._ Really_ be a part of it."

"Okay," Blaine said, looking up at Kurt.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Blaine smiled, kissing Kurt. "I only have a week to move my stuff out."

"That's plenty of time."

They went to bed shortly after, Blaine struggling to sleep for a good few hours before he finally drifted off with his head pillowed comfortably on Kurt's shoulder. They walked Cleo to school together the next morning before getting coffee, Kurt calling into work sick so that he could help Blaine start packing his things, and also just to be there for him in general.

They made their way back to Blaine's apartment not too much later, a ton of flat pack boxes in the back of Kurt's car. Blaine fiddled nervously with his hands the entire car ride there, knowing he had to face Amy sooner or later.

"Amy?" Blaine called out quietly as he entered the apartment with Kurt.

"Hi," she replied equally as quiet as she emerged from her bedroom in her pyjamas, her hair messy, looking like she'd been crying.

"I'll be in your bedroom," Kurt said, leaving them to talk.

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time, sad laughter ensuing as they moved towards one another and hugged each other tightly.

"I'm so sorry I got us kicked out," Blaine said.

"I don't even care," Amy admitted. "I just don't want to lose my best friend."

"Me neither," Blaine agreed. "I promise I'm going to pay you back every single penny."

"I love you so much; I'm so sorry I was so nasty to you."

"I deserved it."

"No you didn't," Amy argued. "Are you moving in with Kurt?" She asked, pulling back from the hug.

"Yeah," Blaine said, smiling to himself. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"I'm gonna stay with me sister for a while," Amy replied.

"If you need_ anything_, you'll tell me, right?"

"I'll be fine," Amy laughed.

"I know, I just feel so guilty," Blaine said. "If I had just been responsible and gotten a job when I started college we wouldn't have ended up in this mess."

"Blaine, don't beat yourself up about it, okay?" Amy said. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Fine," Blaine sighed with a little laugh. "I'm gonna go help Kurt. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I promise," Amy smiled. "I need to go to work anyway, I called in sick but I need the money and I'm feeling better now."

Blaine kissed his best friend on the cheek before going into his bedroom to find Kurt all but pulling his wardrobe apart. Kurt froze, a bundle of Blaine's clothes in his hands and a guilty look on his face. Blaine rose his eyebrow a little before bursting out into laughter.

"You are not touching these clothes once they get to our place," Kurt said, not even realising he called it _their_ place. "And I don't care how long it takes - I'm reorganising our entire wardrobe."

Blaine grinned. "Fine by me," he said, crossing the room and planting a kiss on Kurt's lips. "Besides, if I did it myself you'd probably scream the next time you opened the door."

"You can't just leave things half hanging off of the hanger, Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, causing Blaine to let out a giggle.

"I love you," Blaine grinned.

"I love you, too," Kurt smiled. "Now go pack the rest of your stuff and leave me alone."

Blaine gasped mockingly. "You're_ so_ sweet!"

"Go!" Kurt exclaimed with a laugh, walking over to the bed and dumping the clothes onto it, immediately beginning to fold them and pack them away.

A few hours and two make-out-sessions later, Kurt and Blaine had finished packing up almost all of Blaine's things and most of the boxes were already in the car.

"You okay?" Kurt asked as he re-entered the apartment after packing another box into the car.

Blaine was sitting on the sofa, staring at a photo of him and Amy on what seemed to be the day they moved into their apartment.

Blaine looked up at Kurt and smiled. "Yeah," he said honestly. "It just feels kind of weird...this is the first place that really felt like home, you know? When I lived with my parents, I felt like I had to tip-toe everywhere because they would question me with every move I made. Then I had that..._horrible_ roommate and it felt more like I was living in hell. When I moved in here with Amy I finally felt a tiny bit happy being in New York."

"Hey, I get it," Kurt said, rubbing Blaine's arm soothingly. "I know this place is full of good memories."

"But now I get to make more memories," Blaine smiled. "With you."

Kurt smiled and kissed Blaine gently. "It's a new chapter for both of us," he pointed out. "And I'm so, so glad it's you."

"Eh, I guess you're okay yourself," Blaine teased, receiving a playfully shove from Kurt in response.

"Jerk," he laughed. "I think we still have time to finish packing up your things. Or do you wanna do it tomorrow?"

Blaine was silent for a few moments while he thought about it. "Let's just do it now," he concluded. "Otherwise I have to leave twice."

"Come on then, gorgeous," Kurt replied, kissing Blaine's cheek and standing up, holding his hand out for him. "Let's get you all packed up and then go and get our little girl."

"Kurt," Blaine said, his hand freezing halfway in the air where he was reaching up to hold Kurt's hand.

"What?" Kurt asked obliviously.

"You called Cleo 'our' little girl," Blaine pointed out, a soft smile on his face.

"Oh," Kurt said, shrugging a tiny bit. "Well...she is. Unless..."

"Nope, no backtracking," Blaine laughed. "Don't you dare ask me if you're moving too quickly for me. If you were then I wouldn't be moving in with you."

Kurt laughed. "Okay, okay," he said.

"Actually, speaking of Cleo...does she know I'm moving in?"

"She's kind of a genius," Kurt said proudly. "When I got her up this morning she asked if you were going to live with us...it's like she has a sixth sense or something."

"And she's okay with it?"

"I think she's possibly more excited than me," Kurt smiled, pulling Blaine off the sofa and cupping his face. "Stop freaking out. She loves you."

"I know, I know," Blaine sighed. "Okay, let's do this."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Blaine smiled. "I'm sure."


	12. Chapter 12

I think I'm probably gonna write about 2 more chapters of this story as I'm quickly becoming extremely bored of the storyline and I want to start something new! Please review! :)

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><p>*3 years later*<p>

Blaine was halfway to work when he heard his phone ringing. He'd been smart enough to invest in a Bluetooth headset so that even if he was driving somewhere, Kurt could always reach him. Kurt had whined at him at first, to stubborn to admit that it was a good idea, but he'd been glad when Blaine had bought one for him.

"Hello?"

"Blaine!" Kurt whisper-exclaimed. "Why the hell is Tyler asleep on our sofa!?"

Blaine sighed. He'd been woken up at 2 in the morning by an insistent knocking on the front door - he had no idea how it hadn't woken Kurt up, too - and was greeted by a desperate Tyler in need of somewhere to stay.

"He showed up in the middle of the night covered in cuts and bruises. He had nowhere to stay and apparently somebody's after him."

"I'm not surprised!" Kurt exclaimed. "The guys a grade-A douchebag, I'm surprised it took this long for him to get into something he couldn't get himself out of."

Needless to say, Tyler had only gone further downhill after Blaine found out about his cheating. They'd never actually spoken after that, but it was impossible not to hear stories about what Tyler was up to in his neighbourhood.

"Kurt, he had nowhere to go, what was I supposed to do!?"

"Tell him to get lost! I don't want him in our house, Blaine. I don't want him anywhere near Cleo, and I _especially_ don't want him anywhere near our baby when he's born."

"_Kurt_," Blaine sighed. "Believe me, I don't particularly want him there either, but nobody deserves to be left out on the streets - especially if there's someone after them."

Kurt groaned. "Damn you and your morals," he said. "Fine. Have it your way. But he has a week and I want him gone."

"Okay," Blaine replied.

"You suck,"

"I love you," Blaine said in a sing-song voice, grinning widely.

"Idiot," Kurt replied, but his smile was evident in his voice.

"I have to go," Blaine said as he pulled into the school parking lot. "I promise I'll make it up to you later," he added deviously, grabbing his bag and leaving the car.

Kurt scoffed. "Yeah, if I let you."

"You jerk," Blaine replied teasingly.

"Stop pouting," Kurt laughed. "You know you always get your way."

"Liar!" Blaine gasped. "When I tried to order pizza two nights in a row you threatened to slap me."

"And I would've actually done it," Kurt laughed. "You can't eat pizza two nights in a row, Blaine. That's disgusting."

"Oh hush," Blaine retorted. "Okay, I seriously have to go," he said, putting his bag down behind his desk and glancing up at the clock. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Kurt replied. "I love you - try not to traumatise too many kids today!"

"Screw you!" Blaine laughed into the phone right before Kurt hung up.

Kurt busied himself with replying to emails and getting some work done, until Tyler woke up, and he was preoccupied with glancing up from his laptop every 20 seconds to make sure he was behaving himself.

"You're so paranoid," Tyler commented, keeping his eyes fixed on the TV.

"Yeah, well, forgive me for not trusting you," Kurt said sarcastically.

"I'm not a criminal, Kurt," Tyler pointed out. "I don't know what you think I'm gonna do, but you're probably wrong."

"I don't want you in my house," Kurt spat. "And for as long as you're here, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Yeah, yeah," Tyler laughed.

"So, who'd you screw over this time?"

"Oh, shut up," Tyler said, rolling his eyes.

"I can't believe Blaine ever dated you," Kurt scoffed.

"Because you're just a perfect little angel, aren't you?"

"I never said that. I know I'm not perfect - not by a longshot - but I'd never, ever cheat on someone."

"You don't know anything about me, Kurt," Tyler pointed out. "You have no right to judge me."

"Nothing you tell me could ever justify what you did to Blaine," Kurt retorted. "And I'm almost certain you've done worse."

"Yeah, well it's none of your business," Tyler said.

Kurt rolled his eyes, about to get back to his work when his phone began to ring.

"Hello?...Yes...oh my god...yeah, okay...thank you."

"What's up with you?" Tyler asked as Kurt almost threw his laptop off the chair in an attempt to get up.

"I'm having a baby," Kurt said frantically, rushing around the apartment in an attempt to grab everything he needed.

"I didn't know Blaine turned straight," Tyler commented snarkily.

"I swear to god I will come over there and punch you in the face," Kurt said aggressively, freezing momentarily.

Tyler snickered, staying silent as Kurt continued rushing around before finally darting out of the apartment, clearly not caring that he had left Tyler unattended as he dialled Blaine's number.

"Blaine?" Kurt said, out of breath as he climbed into his car.

"I know," Blaine said, sounding equally as out of breath.

"I'll see you in a bit," Kurt said. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

Miraculously, they both made it to the hospital before the baby was born. They were both in tears when they saw each other, and the tears didn't stop for a while after that.

"I wish we'd had time to get Cleo from school," Kurt said.

They were sat together on a hospital bed, Blaine with his back against Kurt's chest and Kurt's arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Their little baby boy was wrapped in a soft blue blanket, a blue and white dummy in his mouth with a little elephant on it. He was bundled up warmly in Blaine's arms, who was looking at him as if he might not be real.

"One of us can go grab her soon," Blaine pointed out. "Besides, if she was there for the actual birth she'd probably be traumatised."

"True," Kurt laughed, kissing Blaine's shoulder. "We need a name."

"I was thinking...maybe Ethan?" Blaine asked, looking back in order to gauge Kurt's reaction.

"Really?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah," Blaine smiled. "If you want. I know that it would mean a lot to you, and I've always liked the name 'Ethan' anyway."

"I love you so much," Kurt said, tears clouding his eyes as he leaned forward to kiss Blaine gently.

"I love you, too," Blaine smiled, glancing back down at Ethan. "He's so tiny."

"He's gorgeous," Kurt added. "He already has your curls."

"Poor thing," Blaine laughed.

"Hey, I like your curls," Kurt pouted.

"Hm, well I'm sure they'll look much cuter on him than me," Blaine concluded. "My perfect little baby boy."

"I'm gonna go get Cleo now," Kurt said.

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, looking up at Kurt with a smile.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I want her to be here for this."

"Okay," Blaine smiled, kissing Kurt softly before sitting up so that he could get off the bed. Ethan let out a whine at the disruption, opening his hazel eyes and stretching his tiny hands out. "What's all that noise about?" Blaine asked in a childish voice, letting Ethan latch onto his finger.

Kurt let out a strained noise. "You make it so hard for me to leave," he whined.

Blaine chuckled. "Go," he said. "I'm sure you can survive half an hour away from us."

Kurt sighed dramatically. "Fine," he agreed, kissing Blaine on the lips and Ethan on the forehead before grabbing his phone and keys. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Blaine smiled, watching Kurt leave before turning his attention back to Ethan, talking to him enthusiastically until he drifted back to sleep, still grasping Blaine's finger tightly.

Kurt returned not too long later, Cleo in his arms with her head on his shoulder, looking shyly towards Blaine and Ethan.

"Hey, princess," Blaine grinned, sitting back up and succeeding in not waking Ethan up again. Kurt set Cleo down on the floor, smiling as she tentatively walked over to Blaine and peered up at the baby. "This is Ethan."

"He's so little," Cleo commented quietly.

"You were that little once," Kurt pointed out, kneeling down behind Cleo and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Nuh-uh," Cleo giggled, shaking her head.

"You were too," Kurt laughed, wrapping his arms around her little body. "You were teeny tiny."

"Not anymore!" Cleo exclaimed proudly. "I'm big now!"

Kurt and Blaine both chuckled.

"You're going to get a lot bigger, too," Kurt said.

"Like Ethan will?"

"Yup," Kurt said. "Not for a while though, thank goodness."

"Do you want to hold him?" Blaine asked, receiving an eager nod from Cleo in reply.

Cleo climbed up onto the bed as instructed, Kurt showing her how to position her arms before Blaine gently placed Ethan in her arms, sitting next to her and supporting his head. Kurt was able to snap a photo on his phone before Ethan woke up, confused for a moment at not being in Blaine's arms anymore, before letting out a loud wail, his dummy falling from his mouth.

"Hey, little man," Blaine said, grabbing the little stuffed elephant Kurt had brought to the hospital with him and shaking it, a small rattle sounding from inside it. Ethan's cries died down a little as he looked up at Blaine with sad eyes, watching the elephant as it was shaken from side to side. "What's that?" Blaine gasped.

Ethan let out a little hiccup and closed his eyes again, yawning soundlessly.

"Why does he sleep a lot?" Cleo asked.

"That's just what babies do, munchkin," Blaine replied. "You used to sleep lots too."

"Babies are funny," Cleo said, her voice curious as her parents let out adoring chuckles.

"Cleo's are funny," Blaine teased.

Cleo laughed loudly, allowing Kurt to take Ethan from her and set him down in his little bed. Blaine hugged the five year old tightly, letting out a fake noise of pain when Kurt joined in on the hug, squishing Blaine between the two.


	13. Chapter 13

I'm pretty sure this is the shortest chapter I've ever written of anything but this is literally all I wanted to happen in this chapter and I couldn't think of any other way to drag it out so I gave up...One more chapter left! Please review! :)

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><p>Kurt and Blaine were allowed to take Ethan home that evening. They got back to their house, glad to see that Tyler hadn't completely destroyed the place.<p>

"I'm gonna take Cleo up to bed," Kurt said, ignoring Tyler's stars and hoisting the sleeping five year old higher up on his waist.

"Okay," Blaine replied, leaning into the gentle kiss Kurt placed on his lips before he made his way upstairs.

Blaine set the baby carrier down on the chair and took Ethan out, smiling adoringly when he let out a small yawn, curling his fingers into the material of Blaine's shirt.

"Are you hungry?" Blaine asked Tyler, making his way into the kitchen to fill a bottle up for Ethan.

"A little," Tyler replied.

"I think we're just going to order something in," Blaine said, standing by the microwave while he waited for Ethan's milk to warm up.

"You don't have to buy food for me, Blaine."

Blaine made his way back to the living room and sat next to Tyler, grinning as Ethan watched him while he drank his milk, flexing his tiny hands.

"Well, I'd rather pay for a little extra food than have you rot to death on my sofa," Blaine teased, receiving a chuckle from Tyler in response.

"He looks just like you," Tyler commented, looking at the baby.

Ethan turned his head away from the bottle, letting out a tiny sneeze. The noise seemed to scare him, his face scrunching up almost instantly, and a sad cry ripping from his little body as he burst into tears.

"Hey," Blaine said gently, laughing adoringly as he picked Ethan up and hugged him the best that he could, rubbing his back soothingly. "It's okay, baby boy."

"What happened?" Kurt asked as he came downstairs.

"He sneezed," Blaine replied, his facial expression full of love. "It scared him."

"Aw," Kurt cooed. Blaine leaned Ethan back against his hand and grinned when he immediately turned his attention to Kurt. "Hey there, little man," he said, running his hand over the soft curls on Ethan's head as he slowly calmed down. "You're so gorgeous, just like your papa."

Ethan blinked up at Kurt, letting out a small whine.

"I think somebody's still hungry," Blaine smiled, lying the newborn back down and bringing the bottle to his lips once again.

"What do you guys want to order?" Kurt asked, pressing a kiss to the top of Blaine's head.

"I don't really mind," Tyler said.

"Pizza?" Blaine suggested, grinning up at Kurt.

Kurt rolled his eyes fondly. "Really, Blaine?"

Blaine pouted up at Kurt, batting his eyelashes dramatically.

"Ugh, fine," Kurt laughed. "You're lucky I love you."

"I love you, too," Blaine grinned.

Later that night, Blaine was finding it extremely difficult to sleep. He was way too excited about _finally_ having Ethan with them, and he wasn't even remotely tired. Finally giving up on sleep, Blaine quietly got out of bed and tip-toed into Ethan's nursery, just watching him sleep for a while, before going downstairs.

"Why are you still awake?" Blaine asked, seeing Tyler watching the TV.

"Couldn't sleep," Tyler said, shifting up on the sofa so Blaine could sit next to him.

"Me too," Blaine said. "Excitement, mostly."

"You're really happy, aren't you?"

"I am," Blaine smiled.

Tyler nodded, a little sadly. "This could've been us," he pointed out. "But I screwed it up."

"You didn't," Blaine argued. "Put the cheating aside for a minute, because I didn't know about that at first. The relationship was falling apart all by itself, Tyler. I didn't see it at first, probably because I was scared, but it _was_."

"What do you think would've happened if we had stayed together?" Tyler asked out of curiosity.

"I honestly have no idea," Blaine said. "Maybe we would've ended up breaking up anyway, or maybe we'd still be together."

"I'm so sorry I hurt you like that," Tyler said.

Blaine shook his head. "It was years ago, Tyler. I promise you, I've forgiven you for it."

"Still," Tyler said stubbornly. "You didn't deserve that."

"It's okay," Blaine said. "Where is this coming from?"

Tyler shrugged. "I screwed up," he said. "Badly. I just...I miss who I was when I was with you."

"You're still the same person," Blaine pointed out. "I mean, I don't know what you've done, and I'd rather keep it that way. I know_ you_ though, and I know that deep down you're still the exact same person you were back then."

"I don't know how to be that person anymore, though."

"Well, a start would be apologising to anybody you've hurt," Blaine said. "Stop hanging out with whoever is making you act like this, secondly. Then just go from there."

"Blaine?" Kurt's sleepy voice came from the top of the stairs a few moments later, his footsteps following not a second later. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep," Blaine replied, making his way over to Kurt. "I came down to make some tea, but Tyler was still up and we just started talking."

"You okay?" Kurt asked, clearly hardly awake.

"I'm fine," Blaine chuckled, kissing Kurt's cheek. "Let's go back to bed."

"'Kay," Kurt mumbled.

"Goodnight," Blaine said to Tyler, glancing back briefly with a smile, before taking Kurt's hand and leading him back upstairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Can we just pretend I didn't disappear for an entire month? . I'm so sorry! I have no idea what happened. I was sick for a week so I wrote nothing and from then onwards I just...I have no idea. Anyway, the final chapter is among us! Please review!

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><p>*2 YEARS LATER*<p>

It was safe to say that Ethan had quickly leaned towards Blaine, probably as he was figuring out that Blaine was more likely to say yes, or not tell him off if he did something wrong. Blaine was also naturally more comforting, quickly swooping in to hug him tightly if he was upset and singing him lullabies almost every night.

Cleo, on the other hand, had Kurt's stubbornness - which only got worse as she grew up. Blaine couldn't help but laugh whenever she became extremely stubborn and crossed her arms over her chest, resembling Kurt more than ever.

Surprisingly, Cleo absolutely adored her baby brother. Kurt and Blaine were both expecting her to be somewhat jealous of him, but she was constantly pleading them to let Ethan stay up for "just _five_ more minutes" to play with her even though the majority of the time he was sitting there barely awake.

"Cleo, put him _down_," Kurt reprimanded for the umpteenth time. "He clearly doesn't want you to carry him, or he wouldn't be crying."

"Fine!" Cleo exclaimed frustratedly, sitting Ethan down on the floor before running off to continue drawing.

"They're such little brats sometimes," Kurt said affectionately.

"You were a little brat once upon a time," Burt laughed.

It was Thanksgiving, so they had flown back to Ohio to spend it with Kurt's family. The Anderson's weren't exactly happy about Blaine missing a family event, but he knew that he wouldn't be missed amongst them.

"Please don't start telling baby stories again," Kurt groaned. "_My_ babies don't need to hear that."

"Oh, I'm talking about when you were a teenager," Burt retorted.

Blaine let out a snort, pretending to be occupied playing with Ethan when Kurt threw an evil glare his way.

"You're horrible," Kurt pouted.

"Dinner's ready!" Carole called from the kitchen, much to Kurt's relief.

Blaine lifted Ethan up into his arms and carried him into the kitchen, sitting him in Kurt's old high chair – they were shocked that Burt even had that still – and blowing a raspberry on his cheek, the two year old giggling loudly.

"Papa," Ethan said, his voice curious as Blaine went to the other side of the kitchen to help Carole with serving dinner.

"Yes, little man?" Blaine asked, carrying two plates to the table.

"Ju?"

Blaine grinned at his little voice, grabbing his sippy cup from the baby bag hanging on one of the dining chairs and filling it with diluted orange juice before handing it to Ethan.

"Ta," the two year old said, grinning proudly.

Once Blaine had cut up Ethan's food into small pieces and placed it on the high chair tray, everybody sat down at the table and began to eat in a comfortable silence. They finished eating, and began to go around the table, each person saying what they were thankful for. However, when it finally came round to Kurt, he became extremely nervous and fidgety, fiddling with his hands.

"Um, well I'm thankful for all of you guys, obviously," Kurt said. "But um…mostly, I…Blaine."

"Why were you so nervous to say that?" Blaine chuckled, reaching out to hold Kurt's hand.

"I'm not finished," Kurt explained, taking a deep breath before he spoke again. "I…I'm not even sure how to do this," he said, laughing to himself a little. "Wow, okay. When I met you, I was still grieving like hell. I was in a really bad place and I was also completely terrified because I had Cleo and I guess I didn't believe that I could look after her on my own. But you…I asked you to come to the hospital a few hours after we first met because I was scared and you said yes without a second of hesitation…seriously, who does that? We were both incredibly stupid, and it took us an unnecessary amount of time to realise how we felt about each other, but I'm so, so glad we did because I honestly can't imagine my life without you. I never thought I'd do this more than once in my life," he said, pulling a box out of his pocket and kneeling down on the floor. "But I know that I could never, ever regret it. I love you so, so much, Blaine. So…will you marry me?"

Blaine's face scrunched up happily as he began to cry, nodding frantically. He could barely keep his hand still, laughing when Kurt slapped his arm and held his hand in place to slide the ring onto his finger.

Blaine all but yanked Kurt off the floor once the ring was on, pulling him into his arms and holding him tightly.

"You scared the crap out of me," Blaine laughed, crying into Kurt's shoulder. "You were so nervous. I thought you were gonna tell us you killed somebody or something."

Kurt laughed in response, pressing a tiny kiss to Blaine's neck.

"It's nice to know you view me as a crazy murderer," he commented teasingly, pulling back and finally sitting back in his seat, holding Blaine's hand tightly.

"You could've warned me!" Burt exclaimed, causing Kurt to laugh, wiping his eyes.

"Daddy!" Cleo exclaimed, falling into Kurt's side.

"Yes, baby girl?" Kurt asked, wrapping his arm around her.

"Are you gonna be a prince now?" She asked.

"Not exactly, honey," Kurt laughed. "But something very similar."

"Yay!" Cleo exclaimed happily, causing everyone to laugh.

Later that night, Kurt laid in bed with his head on Blaine's shoulder, both of them unable to wipe the grins from their faces.

"I can't believe I really did that," Kurt said into the silence of his old bedroom. "I was terrified. I almost chickened out, I was so scared."

"I'm really glad you did," Blaine pointed out. "I mean, I know that our relationship can't get any more solid than it already is, and I intend to spend the rest of my life with you regardless of whether or not we get married, but…I've always wanted to get married. Maybe it's silly, but –"

"It's not silly," Kurt said. "So have I. I never wanted to marry more than one person in my life but you…you just stumbled into my life completely by chance, and I would give anything and everything to get married again."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Kurt said, kissing Blaine's shoulder.

"Did you propose before, or did Ethan?"

"Ethan did," Kurt replied. "When I realised that I was certain I wanted to get married again, which was an embarrassingly long time ago, I knew I wanted to be the one to propose though. I think I needed to, to be completely honest. If you had proposed, I don't know…I feel like I would've been more scared. I needed to let myself be that vulnerable in front of you to know that I was truly ready to get married again."

"I love you," Blaine said simply, leaning forward to press a small kiss to Kurt's lips. "And I completely get what you're saying. I'm glad that you took the time to really decide if it was the right thing for you."

"It is," Kurt smiled. "I mean, the idea scares the crap out of me. But I think I just needed to realise that by marrying you I wasn't replacing Ethan, I was just letting myself be truly happy, and that he would want me to."

"You're amazing, you know that right?" Blaine said, carding his fingers through Kurt's hair and grinning when he blushed and hid his face in Blaine's shoulder. "I mean it. You've been through a hell of a lot, but you've been so strong the entire time. I know that it still hurts, but you talk about it with so much more ease than you used to."

"I guess I just stopped feeling so angry about it," Kurt replied. "It doesn't feel so much like someone's jabbing a knife into my gut when I talk about it anymore, it's more like…a happy memory."

"Good," Blaine smiled. "Because I don't like seeing you sad."

"Stop pouting, you dork," Kurt laughed.

"Love you," Blaine grinned.

"I love you too."

Whoever told Blaine that happy endings didn't exist when he was younger was most definitely lying. He was certain that they did, because after years and years of feeling lost and alone, he'd finally found the happy ending that he'd always wanted.


End file.
